RABBIT BOARD CRITICISED

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21417, 8 March 1935, Page 4

RABBIT BOARD CRITICISED

I * POSITION ON BANKS PENINSULA DEPUTATION URGES CHANGE OF POLICY The Banks Peninsula Rabbit Board held its usual monthly meeting on Wednesday. There were present:— Messrs Nutt, chairman, J. V. Cha"bman, W. A. Gray, J. O. Coop, C. J. Richfield, and the stock inspector, Mr R. M. Henderson. Rates collected in February amounted to £ll4 Is lOd. Inspector Hoskih advised that he was arranging a general poisoning from March 25 till April 1. The secretary reported that he had lodged the ratepayers' list at the Courthouse. Akaroa, and the magistrate would hear objections on Thursday, April 11, at 11.30 a.m. The board received a deputation consisting of Mr E. Hay and Mr Thelming. The chairman said the board was at all times pleased to hear any of the ratepayers who came to help with the rabbit question, but stated that if all the occupiers would only do their duty, there would be no trouble in keeping the pest down. Mr Hay said that the occupiers were alarmed at the increase of the rabbits. In his opinion, the policy of the board was wrong; it should be a "Rabbit Destruction Board," and should put on rabbit killers. He considered the rates should be raised and rabbiters employed to»kill the rabbits. As the big landholder would be paying more rates than the small land holder, it would then be quite fair for the rabbiter to put in more work on the big runs than he would on the smaller places. The Thelming endorsed Mr Hay's views, anc l remarked that the ratepayers waned to see the rabbits decrease under the board's policy, and not merely see the board hold its own against them. Mr Nutt stated that the board members were elected on their policy of making the occupiers kill their own rabbits, in preference to men who stood against them, whose policy was to raise the rates and hire rabbiters to do the killing. The board could not. therefore, hire rabbiters to do the killing without breaking faith with their electors.