THE RABBIT QUESTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 14

THE RABBIT QUESTION.

(Southland Times.)

10. — goee. 00 long as the rabbit v. as merely a question between the inspector, the 200-acre farmer, and the big xunholders. no public interest ,was tak«n in the matter. The runhoJder had to spend his money on poison and rabbiter^ the '"cockie" eamo periodically before the court and got -fined his usual " £1 and costs" ; the rabbitcr worked for his cheque and occasionally knocked it down ; the inspector drew his salary regularly, and there it ended. Circumstances hitve chaisged. There i-s Iranian food and money -in the nuisance. .Now, goad cheap food for the Lqndoner and money to Jthe trapper, the carter, the exporter, and the freeziing company. • • • The Minister, speaks of the "extinction" of the pebt. I ask him has poisoning in 15 years v " extincted " them ? It has done nothing- of the kiad and never will, arid he knows it. Is it net an open secret that oa'a large run,' not IflO miles' from -where^l write, a contract has 4uiit been entered into- for tho supply 'of 'a 'few .hundred thousand rabfits to' the freezing;works during the coming winter ? And this .from a run, .moreover, -which .has always been pojsoned and, never Jieen trapped. I. am * v a position ty affirm, that rabbits in this part 3iever, goV such iuk-,l.[ extinction"" 'as they received last ;y ear by trapping, and this _ I will stick to in "contradiction "to what any inspector or. Minister may aver to the contrary. 'Apart from '•extinction" by either poisoning or trapping-, I consider the subject of general benefit In Javour of the latter "course. <Who profits TJy it T The runholder to a certain extent, as he gets the vermin removed in winter virtually free of cost ; the trapper anakes some cash; and when he has made a trig cheque you may take it for granted he has worked for it ; the carter gets his share, and to him, as to the exporter and freezer, the result is found money. The only man ivho is neither a penny better nor worse is the small landholder,- who may have a few on. his place and is" relieved of them by ths trapper, who jgets them for the taking, or by the boys who may perhaps earn a shilling or two of pocketmoney by night and morning work. Yet this small landholder, of -all others, has long been the "best persecuted man in the S.M. courts. ~ 11. — HYAL BUSH. 1 have interviewed a good many of the farjiers in this district with reference to the ♦abbit pest, and the -matter of trapping v. ooisoning, and the unanimous opinion is that there should be no poison laid down at this season of the year. Why should such an iniquitous law be enforced as compulsory poisoning, when so many men and families are- making good wages by trapping, who would otherwise swell the ranks of the unemployed ? , It is to the interest to' keep down the raf)bits, and the most effective means to do so 'is "by trapping, ' for it is admitted by experts that rabbits wall not to any extent- take poison at th.iy season.. If the Government would give a small subsidy, or -even -carry the rabbits free of charge on the •railways, so, tHat systematic trapping may be carrie i on even' if* the rabbits should become -'too scarce to remunerate the trappers, instead of harassing the farmer by rabbit inspectors, the pest- would become a thing of the past in settled districts, and bunny would become a valuable product. 12. — OWE-TEEE POINT. Rabbits are not so plentiful in this district Bfi they wore during other years, and the question may be asked : " Why this diminution^"' Obviously the persistent trapping to which the locality was subjected during the last season is responsible for the decrease. It can-, not be reasonably maintained that poisoning would have been more effective- than trapping; in fact, as poison is laid only at considerable intervals, and its strength is greatly weakened by wiutcry weather, it would not Lave beneficial results. Trapping has become a source of employment, and every accessible portion of land is scoured by those in quest of the furry quadrupeds : and depend upon it not many of thef-e are spared. I consider the most effective way to keep down J;he pest would be to allow trapping until the beginning of August, and then, befeve the young grass has grown mucb, pur.iic a vigorous policy of poisoning. 13. — TOMAHAKA DOWXS. Rabbit trappers are busy catching for (.lie factory., and carts from Clinton aro running daily round the district taking deliver;,- ol the rabbits. The trappers make good vsa-i-e.i, and there is no loss of stock, as there w.v with the poisoning. Where' the ground is suitable tiapping is the best way of catching the rabbits. Poison is the best lor high, 10.-.gh country, wlierecfeed is scarce. W. — GAB SOX. Babbit trapping for freezing is beinp; vigorously carried on here. Every piece of ground suitable for trapping is eagpvly bought Sifter There are no conflicting opinions here Jn ragard to trapping versus poiscim.;?. AH landowners! are unanimously in fa i oiu of trapping ; which, alter all. is the only effective method of coping with the rabbit when teed is plentiful. Tlivi rabbit is or/ fastidious in the matter of food, and when its

I natural food is plentiful will have nothing to ' < j do with such artificial stuff as phosjihorised , i j pollard or eats. Rabbit poisoning can only ' f i bo successfully carried out at the time of the j ] ; year when feed is scarcest, which generally is • i | about tho end of winter. Were the de- i i } mand for rabbits for freezing purposes to ' s { cease to-morrow, traps would .still be em- j 1 > ployed about farms and all lowlying country, < ; ai the cheapest, quickest, and most effective ' - ; method of dealing with the pc-!. The lar- i j men here aro not averse to poisoning when it ' [can be carried out with any -degree of biicoess .'■ j (which in most cases is hardly e\er acconi- '• j plished) but they are decidedly averse to lay- : j ing poison' when its death-dealing 'effects mi ' ' 4 crossbred sheep are in inverse ratio to its 1 i effeois mi rabbits. : ! 15. — EDEXJDALK. ] I" The-e can be no "two opinions- a* to tl>e ' i efficacy of dealing with the rabbits by thorougli and systematic 'trapping as pi-actised now, as eomp'ared with the-mixed methods of 1 former days. This is the opinion on every ] side here, and I can bear it out from my own < observations, which extend over a period of i pretty close on 20 year&. Places that have ' been for years absolutely useless by the ceein- I ! ing impossibility of getting*" over' the 'rabbits, 3 j ore now as profitable aR if there were no rab- - '<■ [ bits 'at all; "The rabbit pest from- -being a t j sourco of constant worry .and anxiety 1 jto the 'Occupiers and owners of- land, i ! has ■ now ceased io be the ' slightest 3 | trouble,; ,and ..would 1)8 banished from < | their thoughts -were ii rot- for the. inspectors '< j who are as übi quite «:- as il:e rabbit, "and now- < ! adaj's "much "more of s nuisaricp. But as Srg 1 1 or' two persons "are jierliaps .still /in existence * < | who will neither kill their rabbits nor allow I any one else to do t-n. T suppose inspectors will s be required till. all persons of that kind are \ swept off the land. . . There is scarcely a man in the district who would support' the « J action of the inspectors jiist now. < JO — DIPXOK-. The opinion here is that on suitable land, ■ especially in -close settlement, trapping is tlie 3 best and most legitimate means of -dealing ' with the pest. 3n parts too far, however, l from railway covanmnication, and unsuitable ' land, poisoning would have to be resorted to. I But it mainly depends on the price offered foxtrapped rabbits. 1 hear of arrangements being made with a jjarty of trappers, at pre- ] sent prices, to trap land some 40 miles from a i railway, which goes a long way to prove there must be money in trapping. This, I think, i proves two things. pretty conclusively. First, that trapping must have proved very effee- i tual on the lands contiguous to the railway, ; or why go so far afield ; second, that if poi&on , i has been used on the back blocks it must have been a miserable failure or it would not pay ; now to trap. Land here that has hitherto been religiously poisoned has this season been given over to the trappers, and it was con- i sidered they would do but little with it. But i such is not tie case, as the trappers are taking ; cartloads of rabbits to the railway every week. ; One man and his boy took 158 rabbits in one ■ j night from 150 traps, and they frequently get ! 200. Those two, alone are sending over 2000 '. la .month to the "boiling down." The , .opinion is freely expressed here that the do- ] partment must on poisoning against trapping, ; fearing that if trapping ie persisted in as at 1 present, ci'c long the department, like bunny, will be a thing of the past. j 17. — rcyi'.TiiOSE.! ■ . . . . The general opinion here is that ' jpojV.u ij decidedly better than traps for keepiiis>- the post under. Some of the farmers who hold t.i? opinion had a very large experience v.iU' ilio. pe^t before settling here, and they ■ liar- c divided objections to trapping. A very ' le-.i ;'„••> in favour of trapping while rabbits are - a ir-ai-Iretable article, and to be followed by : | Vnis'ninjr. But these are of opinion that un- , i Ir-s-- t.'ic trappers are experienced hands they j do cor.fciderably more harm than good. Trap- | T~- a--'a --' fig-am, will only &et their traps where ■ i the rabbits are plentiful, and as soon 'as they , j find their catch diminishing (which is caused j if many cases, I am informed, by the rabi '/its shifting their quarters, owing to the ] ; uuicaling- of those caught in traps) they shift . <.-i to some other places. Another objection J pome farmers have to trapping is *hat only , tbo'ie carcases that are marketable are taken, while the small rabbits are set free. Taken as . n whole, the almost unanimous opinion hei'e iri thai poison is a much better eradicator of : rabbits than traps. In other di&tricts, it is • f-airl. that owing- to trapping last year the ■ rabbits are not nearly so numerous this season, and that this result is directly owing to ihe trapping operations ; but the farmers _ here attribute 'it to a different cause. They . say that last year was a very much better ■ breeding season than this, and that although , I this year there "is not the same number of ; ', young rabbits to be stren, there -are quite as | nianj- old ones as ever. This district, howi ever, is not so badly infested a 5?a 5 ? others, and r > this fact may be responsible for the opinions ' j expressed. ) • 18. — TSALFOTTR. , > The exportation of frozen' rabbit? has ■ 1 lurned what was once a pest into n profitable S industry. . It pays now to trap the rabbits j rlurirg the autumn .and winter months, and ', that is the natural course whereby the rabbits i will bo kept down. «■ Trapping is now one of | the "best and longest jobs a working man can | get. At present it is being carried on all over this district. Farmers whom I have interviewed on this subject declare trapping is all tLat is needed on farms. Poisoning on farms i* not nearly so effectual as trapping be-

cause there is mdro feed to 'be had, and the rabbits d.> not tako it so well. Pastoralists say trappingVith summer poisoning will completely keep the rabbits down, and as long as ii. is profitable to kill the rabbits for exportation they will be killed. Some assert the inspectors coiilcl be safely dispensed with, for the whole b\isines3 has "phased" itself into quite a different form since the passing of the Rabbit Act. Tho Minister for Lands need not be any way frightened but what they will be killed, as long as it pnys to send them to London. Trapping is so extensively and systematically carried out now that in a few years' time Government will want to preserve them. If there could be any way possible that the small birds could be turned into such a profitable industry as the rabbits it would be one of the greatest blessings the country has ever got. 19.— HEDGEHOPE. In the matter of trapping v. poisoning very little, if anything, can be said in- favour of the latter. Fully 95 per cent, of settlers around this district condemn poisoning, especially aJb this season of the year. People in general are af opinion that trapping is far more efficacious than poisoning-, as by the latter method the rabbits are not half killed out, and those that sire are wasted — die in holes, and are never secured, even for the skins. In damp weather, dewy nights, ,and so forth, the poison is rendered useless after a few days, and it lias to be renewed ; it is also a source of danger .to stock, and' settlers have not paddocks to move their stock about so as to Pdcape the -danger. Trapping, on the other [land,- ds safe $ it secures a good return in cash, brings mdney into , the country, and gives lucrative employment to hundreds, besides "destroying" the rabbits in tbe real sense of the word. The services of tho Rabbit Department could "be easily dispensed with from March to August, and so save a useless expense to the country. On the whole, the verdict is decidedly for trapping, and some farmers are indignant at the idea of ci en being asked to poison. There must surely be a desire in certain quarters to extinguish the rabbit-freezing industry, and not from any* laudable wish. Such, are the ideas gathered from my inquiries regarding this business. Wiry poison when rabbits are being destroyed wholesale by a surer and more lucrative method ? 20. — wistox. In this district as elsewhere opinions differ regarding poor bunny, but I think the more prevalent one is that shadowed by the Agricultural and Pastoral Association last year— that where trapping or other means are being carried on with vigour poisoning should not begin till about Augusi. It may be that in large areas at great distances from preserving works there may be insufficient inducement to prosecute the work with vigour, and even, in other places there may be an exceptional case of some person neglecting to take sufficiently active steps to reduce the evil to a minimum, and in such cases — easily ascertain able by the travelling inspectors — efficient action should be enforced for .the abatement of the nuisance. I think the most common opinion is that efficient means for the destruction of the rabbits should be enforced right through the year, but that general poisoning should not be enforced till about August. 21. — fahia. . . . As regards^ poisoning v. trapping, T ha;ye made as full inquiry as I could without p,oiug from Louse to house, and every one I hare spoken to is in favour of giving the trapper a chance; at least for a few months in the beginning of the season. ... In my opinion, formed on experience and information, there is not the least fear of rabbitfarming, as that could be very easily stopped by making the rabbit open- property to any one to trap. That is to say, a trapper should bo at liberty to go wherever he can find rabbits, only he must not be allowed to molest stock or "injure property. There is a cry that the trapper will not kill the last rabbit ; but I believe the above law would put a stop to such a fear, especially in closelysettled districts, as one man might leave -when the rabbits began to get scarce, but others, that it would not suit to leave, would come behind them: in fact, bunny would become very scarce. But I think no one should -be allowed to sell the right to trap on their property. If such a course is allowed then there might be a danger of rabbit-fanning. I do not think the rabbits will ever be exterminated. He is here, and he will always be here, and I also believe that trapx^ers alone viil] keep them within bounds. ... I think, taking all things into account, it would be much better to lot the trappers have a show for a few years in districts where the rabbits can be forwarded by rail or otherwise to make it pay. But in out-of-the-way places it will be necessary to poison. 22. — ORETI PLAINS. . . . I have been in the Pukerau-Otaraia districts and the "Wyndham district, where the rabbit question was prominent and being freely discu&sed. . . . Conversing "with f aimers who have used all means available, and under the most approved methods, in the districts referred to, the general opinion was that the pest could not be eradicated ; that jx isotling was fairly effective at times ; that trapping continuously, and skilfully carried oil! was more effective. In view of the rabbitjfreezing industry continuing, it would keep the pest in abeyance, and had this last season diminished it very much. From my personal observations I had no hesitation in coining to

the conclusion that rabbits were nothing like bo numerous as they were some years ago ; and on some farms where I was visiting, where they used to be swarming, and where shoal after shoal could be seen jpaking for cover, I did not notice sufficient numbers to' indicate even that they were numerous. Several parties who have had them bad enough remarked that the severe trapping of last season Lad reduced, them more, than had been the case for many years past, and they had done [ little, if any, poisoning, and in some cases, none. Taking the Western District all over, they are not now a pest in the sense in which they are in the eastern and northern parts of Southland. They do get more numerous in j spots where there is cover from gorse fences i overgrown, and in the neighbourhood of I bushes, but judicious trapping can easily keep | them in check. All over the Oreti Plains there is absolutely nothing done to destroy rabbits. Here they do not prevail. , The : stiff nature of -the' subsoil does not encourage I burrowing, retains more moisture ihan the sandy subsoil on "the eastern 'side of the Mataura, and the country being flat"they are more easily drowned out. Cats and ferrets and guns are quite sufficient to keep them under. Very few are to -be' seen, excepting where there has been a sod bank or a neglected gorse feiice. Wherever there is a warm sandy subsoil rabbits will be more or less numerous, and where conditions are less favourable there will be fewer rabbits?* - - • • - 23:— XUIIBDEN T . ; ... That the' country will be cleared where the trapping is going on no one' can dcubt. Another plea for trapping has been several time 3 brought under my notice within the last few days. .' - On one side of the Oreti, not far from Lumsden, the ground' is being systematically trapped with excellent results ; on the other side little or nothing is being done to exterminate the pest. The consequence is. if I am rightly informed, that the rabbits are running in droves, and will continue to do so tuitil the inspectors do more than they have yet done.