ALLEGED FAILURE TO CLE AR RABBITS

Nelson Evening Mail, 4 August 1916, Page 6

ALLEGED FAILURE TO CLE AR RABBITS

A CASE IHSMISiFD.

At the Magistrate's I'oui'i to-day. before .Mi'" J. S. F.vans, S.M.. Frank Brookes, occupier of the Blue Glen .Station, was charged with failing to destroy rabbits.

Defendant pleaded not guilty, and was defended bv- Mr 'Haves.

J. A. Melrose, inspector under the Rabbit Narisance Act, gave evidence thatin January last he served notice on defendant- to clear the land "of rabbits. Other letters followed. It was not a rabbit-infested l run, a- great portion of the property being fairly clean. On all the occasions on which he visited the property ho saw rabbits. About 2000 acres of the property was rabbity. Cross-examined : neighbour had no difficulty in getting- men to do poisoning, and Ixad secured four men. He advised poisoning, but a property-own excould take any reasonable steps to keep down the rabbits. March and April was regarded as the best time for poisoning. •Defendant gave evidence that he had some poisoners on in January, and had had a man trapping since. In addition, there had 'been five shooting parties of seven men each, three men had been out several times, and another man was shooting four days a week. Last year he poisoned all over the property in June, but his experience was that this was too early. There- were fewer rabbits this year when he had not poisoned them last year when -he did poison. It was -hard to get men for work, owing to the scarcity of labour. Charles G-. Gore, ex-Collector of Customs, stated that he had been living with defendant for over a year. Last year he could get plenty of shooting, but this year there were very few rabbits about.

The Magistrate said there was no evidence as to the number of rabbits. Some steps had been taken to destroy the rabbits, but- whether they were reasonable he could not say. It was essential to prove the extent to which the property was infested 1 . It was on the Inspector to prove that enough had not been done, and as this was not proved, the case would be dismissed.