THE RABBIT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23894, 23 August 1939, Page 4

THE RABBIT

PLACE IN WORLD FUR TRADE SATISFYING AMERICAN DEMANDS PRICE LEVELS IN NEW ZEALAND ,A subject that is proving of considerable interest to Otago runholders is the rabbit pest, the removal of which is at present the subject of controversy following the advancement of a new scheme for coping with the trouble. One of the most interecting trades, and one that is world wide, is the fur trade, and it is interesting to note the part played by the rabbit in providing articles of clothing for men and women of most countries. The present season has proved a fairly satisfactory one for the New Zealand rabbiter. Although prices have not reached the high levels of 14 years ago. they have been fairly profitable during 1938 and this year with the result that there has been a fair number of rabbiters trapping and poisoning in Central Otago. Thi s year the prices for higher-grade ikins have shown a slight drop., but the lower quality lines have shown an improvement. At the last Dunedin sale first bucks sold at IOOd. compared with 109 d last year, other bucks showing a similar decline. Does dropped fully 20d. as there is not a great demand from the United States for these thinpelted skins and Europe is proving a most unsatisfactory market on account of the international situation. The hat trade in the United States is in a better position than it was a year ago with the result that skins used in this trade are firmer. Prices improve as the quality improves, and as a result higher values will be ruling at sales in the next month or two. The American Trade

The United States of America is at present the home of the fur trade, and it is to the New York market, a Dunedin broker told a Daily Times reDorter yesterday, that most of the New Zealand skins go. There are two distinct branches of the fur business—the clothing trade and the hat trade. Each takes a different tvpe of skin and each uses.the fur of the rabbit in an entirely different Way.. , ' ' It is the":clothin£f trade that people think of When the fur business is mentioned^./.and this branch is the best known. In-New York, huge fur factories occupy a vast area, and thou-sands-of people are concerned solely in making coats, stoles, capes, and necklets to the latest style decreed by fashion. The Jew practically monopolises the fur trade in America just as he does in most countries in the world. For a .while the rabbit provided 70 per cent, of the fur used in the States, but this proportion has dropped slightly in recent years. Nevertheless, rabbit skins are still in great demand, and are imported from all corners of the wold. In the United States furs are worn far more than in New Zealand. In the winter time nearly every woman has a fur coat of.some description, for she regards it as almost a necessity. There. most ' houses and buildings are centrally heated, and the women wear silk or cotton dresses indoors. When they have to go out, they put on a fur coat, step into a car or bus. and when they arrive at their destination slip off their coat. Very few American women go into winter clothes as New Zealanders do. Consequently, fur is in great demand and a ready market is open to the wcirld. ''

A Sharp Contrast

There is a great difference between the clothing and the hat trades. The clothing trade takes all the high quality ■ rabbit skins and it is amazing what it does with them. Most of'these winter skins are coneyed, dressed and dyed, and the finished article,is a beautiful coat that can be distinguished only with great difficulty from real seal. In fact, nearly all fur can be imitated by careful cut ting, dyeing and marking. Rabbit coats with a variety of fancy names are still popular with American women whose purses cannot run to mink, •quirrel and other high-priced furs. The hat trade takes practically any quality of skin, for its processes are entirely different., It is probable that there are many people who do not realise that felt hats are made almost entirely from rabbit fur; Only the fur and not the pelts is used in' this trade, which employs the most ingenious machinery in preparing the fur for the manufacture of hats. As can be imagined, the trade is a vast one, for men almost the world over wear felt hats and women favour felt as fashions change. When women went in for the buster and shingle felt hats became extremely popular and the hat trade enjoyed a great boom. ' The fur trade felt the world-wide depression less than practically any other industry, and this was the case in New Zealand as much as anywhere else. Rabbit Is World Wide When New Zealand runholders express so much concern over the rabbit pest, it comes as rather a shock to learn that Great Britain exports considerably more rabbit skins to the United States each year than does New Zealand. And yet there is no question of a rabbit pest in England. Rabbit skins from all over th 3 world find their way. to the American markets. They even come from China.

New Zealand's export trade has declined in the past 15 years. In 1924 6500 bales of rabbit skins were exported, whereas last year only 3500 bales left the country. High prices bring about a big increase in the number of skins exported and it is in high prices, said the broker, that lies the solution of the rabbit pest in Central Otago. Unfortunately, there is no way of ensuring regular high prices unless by a Government subsidy, which would be too costly. It is interesting to note that the rabbit is becoming more and more popular in Europe—particularly Italy and* Germany. It is not bred so much for its skin as for the meat it provides, for both these countries are,endeavouring to conserve as much as possible the more profitable sheep and cow. The expulsion of the Jew from Germany and other European countries has seriously affected the fur trade cjn the Continent for the Jew practically controlled the whole business. His expulsion and the general uneasiness in Europe have practically closed the Continental market to New Zealand. Even though he comes in for much abuse from Otago farmers, it will be evident that the rabbit is quite an important individual in the world to-day for he provides furs for women., hats for both sexes, and.meat for the armies of dictators.