OHAUPO FARMER

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 77, Issue 6977, 13 October 1948, Page 7

OHAUPO FARMER

FAILURE TO DESTROY RABBITS DEFENDANT FINED AND ORDERED TO KEEP THE PEACE At the Te Awamutu Court yesterday, John Thompson Wood, inspector for the Ohaupo Rabbit Board, proceeded against Ivan Clifford Walters on a charge of failing to take steps to destroy rabbits on his property. The inspector also sought to have the defendant bound over to keep the peace. There was no appearance of Walters, but a lady seated at the rear of the court room rose and said, “He is not here. lam in his place; first we were fined for trapping rabbits, now because we stopped that we are prosecuted for not doing so.” Mr P. S. Page appeared for the board and he stated that the board had experienced considerable trouble with Walters. Mr Page detailed previous prosecutions, wherein defendant had been first fined £lO and costs and then £25 and costs. In June, 1947, defendant had agreed to the board carrying out the destruction of the rabbits, and on that occasion he had been convicted and ordered to pay costs. The arrangement worked happily for a while, but later Walters objected to the inspector laying poison and Mr Wood left the property fearing violence. He'(Mr Wood) was subject to abuse and threatening behaviour to such an extent that he would not attempt to go on to Walters’ property alone. The property so far as rabbit infestation was concerned was one of the worst in the Ohaupo Rabbit Board’s area. The property of adjoining owners were in fairly good order and they looked with considerable concern to .Walters’ failure, to destroy the rabbits. The board was also concerned and their aims to prevent the spread of rabbits were defeated. No attempt was being made to destroy the rabbits. John Thompson Wood then gave evidence as to doing a substantial amount of work on Walters’ property during a stated period. He (Wood) had had trouble with Walters on three different occasions. On one occasion Walters agreed to witness going on to the property, but later he objected to witness going on to it on a Saturday, stating that he (Wood) had no light to be there on a Saturday. “I will have you arrested for trespass,” Walters stated on one occasion. The witness detailed occasions on which Walters was allegedly abusive and threatening, Wood stating that on the last occasion defendant became so desperate as to give him (Wood) concern and he believed that it was not safe to go onto the property alone. Wood said he did not do anything to antagonise the defendant. The property was teeming with rabbits and he saw no signs of any work beingdone. Despite the fact that the board had asked him to go back onto the property, he refused because he considered it unsafe to do so.

L. A. Johnston, secretary to the board, gave evidence as to sending out the requisite notices to defendant. A. D. Cairns, a member of the board, gave evidence corroborative of that of the inspector. The defendant was convicted and fined £lO and ordered to pay Court costs (12s) and solicitor’s fee (£2 2s). Walters was -also bound over to keep the peace for a period of 12 months, and he was ordered to find a surety of £lOO within 14 days. If that surety was not forthcoming in that time, defendant would be brought before the Court and imprisoned until such time as the surety was entered into.