THE RABBIT QUESTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19256, 21 August 1924, Page 12

THE RABBIT QUESTION.

MENACE TO PASTORAL INDUSTRY. POSITION IN THE SOUTH. (From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, August 20. The Director-general of Agriculture, m his annual report, states that rabbit control must receive further attention from the point, of view of endeavouring to bring about better co-ordination of work between the inspector and the occupiers of land in certain districts where trapping for the purpose of securing rabbit skins is becoming an established industry’ and quite a lucrative one for those engaged in it. In some North island areas very excellent work has been done in rabbit destruction, rabbit boards having proved successful m their operations, thus demonstrating that with the farmers themselves actively determined to cope effectively with the post good results can bo obtained. The question of the rabbitskin export industry in tho south, however, is one needing_ to bo thoroughly gone into from all points of view in order that a settled policy can be adopted which will hold out a prospect of meeting tho present unsatisfactory position from a rabbit control point of view to the best advantage. Under conditions the inspection staff is placed in an extremely unsatisfactory position in these particular districts, and while, its officers are doing their best to carry out tueir duties efficiently. the conditions resulting from the rabbitskin export trade undoubtedly exert an' influence which renders tho work of the inspectors difficult to carry out on the lines one would like to see it carried out namely, proper cooperation between tho farmers and the departmental officers. On this subject the Director of the Live Stock Division says: “There is a very genuine and praiseworthy desire "on tho part of a considerable number of land occupiers to have rabbits reduced to a minimum, but unfortunately on the part of others there seems to be an utter lack of any serious attempt at improvement. This is greatly retarding the —ork of the others and the efforts of the department. Tho high price of rabbitskms is still a marked factor in blocking tho way to the improved conditions necessary, and undoubtedly the effect of tho trapping industry, combined with dilatory owners and unfinancial and bad farmers, is very largely responsible for retarding the increased production of live stock and live stock products to the, extent of millions of pounds in value. The total value of the export trade in rabbits and their skins is scarcely £500,000, _ in spite of tho high price of skins, but if the food which went to feed the 14,000,000 rabbits which supplied the skins to that value (without calculating the additional numbers killed and not collected and those left to “carry on”) had been feeding sheep, it does not require a financier to estiumte the yearly loss which the dominion is suffering through tile rabbit post. The question is of great national and economic importance, and something needs to be done, as although there is undoubtedly an improvement on the position as existipc a few years ago, there do not appear to bo sufficient indications of that future improvement so necessary if wq are ever to reap permanent benefit in the direction of a greatly reduced rabbit pest. It is something to bo able to hold our own against tho extraordinary breeding propensities of tho rabbit, but more progress than that is desired, and it is indisputable that the work of eradication has been made much more difficult ov.dng to the high commercial value attaching to the skins. The rabbit boards formed in tho North Island are entitled to a considerable amount of praise for the manner in which they have dealt with the matter of suppression of the rabbits within the areas controlled by them, and it is largely to their credit that the pest in the North Island has been so considerably reduced. Tho absence of the commercial element in the north has also been of assistance in the work of the inspectors. I very much regret that the reports of the work of the majority of the boards formed in the Otago and Southland districts are not so satisfactory, and I regret to say that these boards are npt giving the results anticipated. Something more is wanted than merely standing between the department in its work and the settlers. It has been clearly shown in the case of quite a number of the boards in north that good work is possible of fulfilment, and I am compelled to adduce from tile reports received that there is not the necessary spirit shown by the members of many of tho boards in the districts mentioned. A very considerable increase in poison materials despatched from the department’s poison depots has taken place, principally in the North Island, tho large amounts purchased by rabbit boards being to some extent responsible for tho increase. The quantity of phosphorised pollard sent out alone amounted to 487,0001 b (over 217 tons), besides considerable quantities of phosphorised oats, strychnine, carbon, bisulphade, etc.”