MANAWATU RABBIT BOARD.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3747, 28 January 1928, Page 2

MANAWATU RABBIT BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING

The monthly meeting of the Manawatd Rabbit Board was held in the Board’s Office on Thursday and was presided over by Tr. B. Gower (chairman). Also present were Trs. D. Fleming, W. E. Barber, J. F. McKelvie, F. C. Raikes, J. Gloyn and the secretary (Mr. Roore Rangiheuea). Mr. D. R. Barron (inspector), was also in attendance. Apologies for absence were received from Trs. R. Boswell and T. A. Gra miner. RATE FOR YEAR 1928. It was unanimously decided on the motion of Tr. Gloyn seconded by Tr. Raikes that the Manawatu Rabbit Board, under the provisions of “The Rating Act, 1925” and Sec. 82 of ‘The Rabbit Nuisance Act, 1908’ ” do hereby make and levy a rate of one half pence per acre on all rateable property in the Manawatu Rabbit District. Such rate to be for a period of one year from the first day of January, 1928, to the thirty-first day of December, 1928 and shall become due and payable in one sum at the Board’s. Office, Foxton, on the first day of April, 1928, and' that a! discount of 5 per cent, be allowed off all such rates (save on minimunis or rates of 1/-) paid in full on or before the 2nd day of May, 1928, and, further, that ten per cent, be added to all such rates as may be outstanding for tfie year if not paid on or before the 15th day of October, 1928. It was resolved to write off .Cl 9 6s Od made up of arrears (1924) £ls 16s 6d, arrears (1925) £2 18s sd, arrears (1926) 11s Id. Trs. Raikes and Barber were authorised to sign the Rate Book for 1927. Accounts amounting to £94 Is Od, were passed for payment. INSPECTOR’S REPORT. The inspector’s report was read and adopted as follows: — Since last meeting I have been engaged in general inspection work, following up the statutory notices sent out at the beginning of December. A fail- amount of rabbit destruction work has been carried out, but at this, season of the year the work is somewhat kept back/by farmers having to harvest their hay crops and those of their neighbours. Those.'Who did not take advantage of the moisture in the ground at the beginning of the summer, to carry out their fumigation work, are now finding the work more difficult as they have more rabbits to contend with than would have been the case had they completed their fumigation earlier in the season. On a number of properties inspected, farmers have been neglecting the work to a certain extent', and have not taken advantage of the advice given them earlier. Certain areas in the district are in very good order while on others the work of rabbit destruction has been let slide to a certain extent and if the settlers in these areas do not carry out the work as it should be done they will find themselves faced with not only more work, but at the same time they may be faced 1 with the expense of being brought before a Magistrate’s Court. The district as a whole is in very fair order at present, but as I have previously .stated, there is a small percentage of farmers who, if they do not carry out the work required more expeditiously, will have the added expense of a prosecution. During the month I have had a joint inspection made of one property in the Board area, and have had to lay an information against the owner for failing to destroy rabbits, and the case will come on for hearing at the beginning of next month. If the present dry weather continues I intend to write to all owners of land in the “cover” country, advising them to carry out a phosphorised pollard poisoning at the beginning of next month.