THE RABBIT INDUSTRY IN OTAGO.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIII, Issue VI, 5 August 1899, Page 191

THE RABBIT INDUSTRY IN OTAGO.

Mst mouth, I found myself located in Central Otago, with business that threatened to take up the greater part of a week. The only two topics of conversation ill the district seemed to be “dredging" anil "rabbits." Of dredging I saw little, everything in that line being in an embryonic condition. But wherever I turned 1 knocked up

against men with spades and tin dishes wending their way to the banks of the river. Day after day, they were there, testing the gravel, digging trenches, and sticking in pegs. The rabbit question, however, interested me more. And as the exportation of bunny may now be considered one of the permanent industries of the colony. I determined io see all I could of the rabbit from the time he

emerged from his hole till he was sent off dead to the Freezing Works. I asked Mine Host of the small inn 1 was staying at, if he knew of anyone who could “show me the ropes" as it were, and he directed me to a small stone hut elose under the hill. “There is a rabbiter up there, called Jim" he said, “he will be only too proud to show you everything: he is an intelligent lad. and will give you a lot of useful hints, if you are thinking

of starting in the same line yourself.” That evening I took my notebook ami re|>aired to the hut pointed out. I found the only occupant, a lad of seventeen, just finishing his tea. He seemed pleased at the idea of my accompanying him on his rounds, and while he fixed up his lantern. I had time to get my breath, after the rather stiff climb up-hill. The only thing of interest in the hut was a curious looking rabbit. It was slate coloured

with a black head and such long hair. I got up to examine it, and Jim laughed as he looked up from his work. “Isn’t that a grand ‘Frenchy,’ sir?” 1 have seen the beggar sitting'outside his hole for the last week, but only got him to-day.” 1 told Jim I would take a photo of it in the morning, and he was delighted. At my suggesting it was a bit lonely for him living alone, he explained that his mate had taken a week’s holiday to run down to town. It left him a good deal to do, for besides trapping, he was agent for one of the exporters, and had to be at the station every day to take delivery of rabbits from the trappers round, and consign them to the Freezing Works. For a fortnight he had done no trapping, as the ground was frozen too hard. During that time he told me he had been shooting and picking up poisoned rabbits on a neighbouring station.

•We soon set out and from the hills round we could see the flickering lights of various lanterns, like so many will o’ the wisps. Jim had set about fifty traps early in the afternoon, and as we went along, we could hear chains rattling, and rabbits squealing in every direction. It was most interesting to watch how carefully the trap had to be set, and covered with fine soil, for the slightest sign of steel sets bunny on the qui vive.

It made me shiver to see often how nearly (to my eyes) his fingers were caught. To warn Jim occasionally, I would make the remark that the trap looked very unsafe. “Very effective though,” he would assure me, “especially at catching one’s fingers.”

He told me a good trapper could set a trap a minute, that is, make a scrape in the ground, work up.the soil finely, set the trap and cover everything over carefully.

When we arrived at the end of the round of traps, I found to my surprise fhat it was eleven o’clock, and as Jim hung the rabbits on the nearest fence 1 asked if he were always as late. He told me he never turned in before eleven, and had to be out again by six in the morning, as th? hawks were sure to destroy the rabbits as soon as daylight came. “It is a hard graft,” he continued, “but think of the pay. Babbits at the beginning of the season are 4Jd a pair, and as the winter advances they feteh as much as Bd. Why, a man can make from £3 to £5 a week; and who would mind hard work and bad weather under those circumstances?”

Before daylight next morning I was awakened by the intense cold, and though still dark I sprang out of bed and dressed hurriedly, and determined to be at the traps before Jim and surprise him. But to my astonishment he had just loaded his pack horse with the rabbits ami was ready to start for home. He invited me to come to the railway station later on and see them put into the crate. Each crate is made to 'hold four dozen rabbits. “It is a slow job,” he said, “waiting for the men to bring in their different lots; they come most irregularly. 1 consider it a waste of valuable time to have to put in two hours a day waiting' for them.”

Before leaving the district I took a run over to see his skins. He had several hundred drying in the station woolshed, and expected to make a good deal out of t'hem.

One afternoon I was strolling along the banks of the river when 1 heard laughter, and on reaching the top of a rise looked down. Much to my surprise 1 saw two girls and a small boy evidently enjoying themselves thoroughly. 1 stood and looked on for a few minutes myself unobserved. Suddenly a rabbit popped out of a hole and raced for dear life into a net, which I 'had not noticed be.ore. The three rushed up and caught iti The small boy next- proceeded with a great deal of importance to kill it. After doing so he handed it solemnly to his sister to hold “because it might run away.” Just them out popped another rabbit and it shared the same fate.

Really, the proceedings were most extraordinary. Why on earth the rabbits did not stay in their burrows puzzled me. Curiosity got the better of me, and 1 walked nearer ank asked the small boy what they were doing. He told me he had no one to go rabbiting with him, so on

- fine days hie stater* took pity- on bis . loneliness and they all went out with. ’ ferrets and nets, the only condition being that he was to do all the hard work, which he was only too happy; to agree to do. Of course I only saw things in one district on a small scale, but the same thing is going on all over Otago. Last year as many as 5,000,000 rabbits left the colony, and as a result a quarter of a million of money came in. As a runholder remarked in my hearing not long ago: “You will see, now the rabbit has become useful it will disappear, and to think of the numbers of men it has ruined.” C.M.F.