"The Natural Enemy."

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 22 September 1891, Page 3

" The Natural Enemy."

Rabbits were such a nuisance that our law-maker?, some years ago, permitted the introduction of what they were pleased to term " the natural enemy" of the rabbit, in the shape of stoats and weasels. On this coast every settler lives daily with the liability of incurring heavy penalties if he takes steps to save his hen roosts from the number of these " enemies" that satiated with rabbit in the Wairarapa, are venturously entering this district to find if this Colony can offer some new sensation to tickle their palled appetites. We are much amused at the following paragraph taken from a late number of the Ulercury :— " On Saturday Mr R. K. Simpson succeeded in capturing on his Patikipapa estate a live weasel. The animal was indulging in a siesta, from which it failed to awake before it became a prisoner. Mr Simpson brought the specimen of the cat tribe into Marfcon in a bottle, and on its being released therefrom in Broadway it was soon pinioned by a dog and killed". When it is known that the Mr Simpson mentioned was- till lately the Sheep Inspector for this district, it will be amusing to find that though he was sharp enough to catch a weasel asleep, he was not sharp enough not to say anything about it. " The Rabbit Nuisance Act 1882" which he used to administer sets out that " any person capturing or selling or disposing of or killing any animal so declared to be a natural enemy of the rabbit without a permit s : gned by an Inspector so to do shall be liable to a penalty of not loss than five nor more than twenty pounds." Mr Simpson or any other settler will find it difficult to catch n weasel, awake or asleep, if he has to get a signed permit from the Inspector first, and unless he does so he must drop at least £5. A law is of little value when it is constantly broken, as this Act is, and we draw attention j to it trusting that the Order-in -Coun- ! may bo-*«^nded go as to describe : districts Within which such vermin are to be protected. • On this coast we want none of them. j