RABBIT DESTRUCTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27345, 22 March 1950, Page 6

RABBIT DESTRUCTION

Importance Realised By Government Mr Holyoake At Kurow Special Correspondent KUROW, Mar. 21. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Holyoake, accompanied by Mr S. W. Smith, parliamentary Under-secretary, and Mr R. D. Steel, his private secretary arrived in Kurow this afternoon to start a tour through North and Central Otago, where he will hear evidence concerning rabbit destruction. The Minister is accompanied by Mr G. B. Baker, chairman of the Rabbit Destruction Council, Mr T. McKenzie, of the Destruction Council, Mr G. Millar, principal stock inspector, Dunedin, and the Government nominee to the Destruction Council, Mr C. V. Dayus, live stock superintendent, Dunedin, and Mr C. S. Hardy, chairman of the South Island Rabbit Boards’ Association. “There has been a suggestion that I should have come here with a clearcut policy on the rabbit question,” said Mr Holyoake at a widely representative meeting of farmers and rabbit board members here tonight. “The rabbit position is alarming and desperate, but we must not allow this fact to militate against our judgment and decision.

“The Government wants opinions from everyone who is interested so that we can do things the democratic way, but when once all the evidence which we are gathering has been weighed and a fit decision is arrived at, let us all get behind whatever policy is implemented and work together in har-

mony and destroy the rabbit. “I am keenly and vitally interested in the rabbit problem,” continued the Minister, “and Cabinet is also very much alive to the seriousness of the rabbit menace. My colleagues have asked Mr Smith, my Parliamentary Under-secretary, and myself to make a thorough investigation because we want to grapple with it immediately. We want you to regard us always as farmers like yourselves who have been asked to enter Parliament on behalf of farmers generally. We will do the best we can in this and in any others matters we have to deal with. We will not always be able to please everyone, but we will do what is best for New Zealand.” The present Government was vitally concerned with the rabbit problem, as had been the last Government, continued the Minister. He stated that he had been going into the matter of rabbit destruction finance. It looked as if over £500,000 would have to be obtained from the Treasury to finance the policy during the next financial year. This was the people’s money, and for this reason he was investigating the position very thoroughly before committing the Government to any set policy. No Value Now “Before the Rabbit Destruction Council will have anything to do with a policy of putting a price on rabbits, we will recommend the abolition of all back-country boards that have been constituted under our administration, said Mr G. B. Baker, chairman of the Destruction Council. Mr Baker pointed out that the price of skins had slumped so low that they were not any longer a commercial proposition. Furthermore, after March 31 England would not be accepting any more, rabbit carcasses, so rabbits were m fact vsluslcss “This now means that if a bounty is to be put on rabbits, all the money will have to be found by the Consolidated Fund, and-ihe Destruction Council will have nothing to do with asking taxpayers to pay for commercialising rabbits and so continuing the threat to our farm land and primary production,” continued Mr Baker. This insidious form of partial control by a price on the rabbit had proved a complete failure in the past, and it would never exercise more than very limited control. “If you make skins worth Is or 2s each, rabbits will never be eradicated,” he said. • . . . Illustrating this, Mr Baker pointed out that with the present high prices ruling for sheep, farmers were not getting rid of their flocks, but were building them up. That was what invariably happened when rabbits were made valuable. There had also been a suggestion that in special areas, particularly North and Central Otago, incentive payments on rabbits should be authorised, said Mr Baker. The Destruction Council could not possibly recommend such a course. If isolated areas paid bonus rates on rabbits it would be found that a one-way traffic in skins would soon develop, and boards in such areas would be paying for rabbits being caught in other districts. _ No. 1 Enemy

“ The rabbit is our No. 1 enemy, and bv far the most discussed problem we have,” said Mr J. Davey, the Federated Farmers’ nominee on the Soil Conservation Council, in urging the continuation of the killer policy. The sooner rabbits were utterly destroyed the sooner the countryside and farm lands would return to complete and bountiful production. It was essential that in dealing with this acute problem it should be approached as a national duty, and personal feelings should be set aside. The Soil Conservation Council realised that it was useless in many areas to get on with the job unless they first eliminated 'rabbits, which destroyed faster than they could rebuild. “All the past policies in the past 50 or more years have failed utterly, and we are firmly convinced that decommercialisation and devaluing of rabbits is the only possible way open to New Zealand’s problem,” said Mr Davey. The best way to perpetuate anything was to place it on a firm remunerative commercial footing and that was what had been done with rabbits in the past. “ I have seen tallies of rabbit killers in the papers at various times, but there are two tallies which I have never seen, the tally of rabbits still at large throughout New Zealand and the tally of the sheep we cannot run because of these rabbits. These are the really vital tallies.” he said.

The fact that boards were not being formed in some infested areas was deprecated by Mr Davey. Until complete control of all such areas was attained, real results could not be expectea. It was essential that ooards should be formed at the earliest possible moment wherever they were necessary. “ Have we not played the fool with rabbits for far too long in this country? Should not we treat them as vermin, and say, ‘ Out with them?’” queried Mr Davey. “I appeal to all members of the farming community and to all people upon whom the onus of rabbit destruction rests, to sink personal differences, get together and work unitedly to exterminate rabbits. Are we making the best use of our land, and are we acting as competent trustees in allowing rabbits to run forever on it? That is the question we all must face,” concluded Mr Davey.