Rabbit farms likely to be legal soon

Press, 7 April 1979, Page 1

Rabbit farms likely to be legal soon

Parliamentary reporter Rabbit farming and the possession of pet rabbits will become legal again when a bill prepared by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Maclntyre) passes through Parliament. It is hoped that this can be done this year, although considerable resistance still exists in farming and pest-destruction circles. The Government caucus has approved the bill. Mr Maclntyre has discussed it with Federated Farmers and the Pest Destruction Council. The bill follows the practice of Australia, which for many years has allowed rabbit farming while pursuing the wild rabbit population towards extermination by the use of traps, myxomatosis, and organised drives. The breeding rabbit known in

Australia and elsewhere as the Large New Zealand White would be the only breed legalised. Mr Maclntyre said that the Pest Destruction Council had asked for pet rabbits to be neutered and subject to permits. The farming of rabbits would be subject to stringent controls and there were not likely to be any “rabbit ranches.”

Emphasis would be on fencing arrangements. A battery system of breeding, with the does penned in large, covered buildings, would probably be followed. The reason for the Government’s change of heart on the issue is probably related to the high export potential of rabbit farming. The meat is highlyprized abroad, while the fur is an ideal source of fur felt. Since rabbits were officially outlawed some years ago because of their des-

tructive effect on pasture, there have been several attempts to legalise rabbit farms. The question was

last considered by a select committee of Parliament in 1974 but was rejected mainly because of the dif-

ficulty of slopping blackmarketing. Since then the need for diversification of New Zealand production has changed many views. The deer pest has turned into a source of overseas sales, goat farming is booming, and there are moves elsewhere to capitalise on opossums as a source of fur felt. For many years now Mr Maclntyre has been sympathetic to the idea of. breeding trout for international hotel tables. The idea has largely been checkmated by the acclimatisation societies; and the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) promised about four years ago that trout farms would not eventuate "during the term of this Government.” Some protagonists believe that the term of this promise has now run out. The situation relating to salmon is somewhat different. A South Island

breeder has permission to develop a percentage of his allocation to fingerling and pan-size fish but the Government is still experiencing considerable resistance over this. It is believed that Mr Maclntyre lias asked salmon-conservation representatives to meet him in Wellington but no date has been fixed. The president of Federated Farmers (Mr A. F. Wright) said yesterday that his organisation had always had a cautious attitude toward rabbit farming, reports the Press Association. The federation would have to be fully confident that the controls would be adequate to protect the rest of the farming industry from possible diseases before it could support the proposals. The federation did support new farming enterprises provided that they did not represent a departure from good farming practices.