THE RABBIT PEST.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 552, 6 July 1909, Page 8

THE RABBIT PEST.

"■;;; .PREVENTIVEMEASURES.:;V;^ ■■' For,some.time.past there have been; fre-'' quent statements to the effect that the Auckland provinco.is, going to'find the-growth'of ; the rabbit a very serious pest, .'and that from a pastoralist's point of view.the position/is likely to become acute; It is, computed, that; within a period of ten yoars the progeny) of a pair of rabbits is capable of reaching two mifc lions. Be this as it, may, the pastoralists "of the Auckland provinco have been .'complaining of the encroachments of ''bunny!'; in re-' cent years, and a large meetirig'.of, graziers was held at Gisborne recently to> urge: upon' the Government the necessity fori preserving the immunity of ;the Gisborne district from the-depredations, of the rabbit..."Up;to tho. present Gisborne has booh: free of the pest; 1 and,it is now contended that there is danger of an .invasion from \ the .'Auckland ':.! : and. Hawke's :B»y ,-a\ • "Star" interviewed Mr.'., J. Duncan, inspector in icharge of the Auckland district and learnt from.him that the fears en-!' tortained by the Gisborne people are groundless. The. province,; Mr. Duncan declares,' has never been so .free of rabbits as at.present, and tho Agricultural Department's .of-, ficers and inen-have never "before had tho post so well in hand. "There is,", the; \Chief Inspector declares,-"no great cause for alarm, provided that the spread,of..the;pest is not ;carricd on as the ; result .of 'human',agency/. In'regard to the contention'that'the. rabbits are likely to encroach from the Auckland district into Gisborne country,' I' would point out that for the last two years wo.havo had. four men stationed at Galatea, permanently: engaged in protecting.the eastern'side of the Ringitikei. River, on. the borders :of the Urewera country.. Tho Rangitikei is a splen-1 did natural boundary,, and our' men....have concentrated their efforts to preventing, the spread of tho pest across it.. The only chance of getting across into the Gisborne country ;hero, is by means of the bridge at Murupara, and this is protected by a wirfrnetted fence half a mile long on each side, with two gates to the main road. A man is permanently stationed at this,point, and part of his duty is to boo that those gates arc always closed. 1 '