THE RABBIT NUISANCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 11

THE RABBIT NUISANCE.

THE DEPARTMENT'S .REQUIRE- . MENTS. - (From Otjb Own" Correspondent.) , - ' NASEBY, January 14. At 'trie Magistrate's Court, Naseby, yesterday,, before ..Mr-' J. ,A. M'lnnis, S.M.,' Inspector Clapcott prdeeecjed . .against - the following farmers^for failing to* fake reason- - able pr. diligent l , steps; to' promote the destruction.-- of ..'rabbits on ■ their _^ land — viz., , Margaret M'Lennan,' "who was 'convicted, and fined $2 and- costs (£1- Us),;, .Patrick Kearney (Mr M'Neil), two informations, i .convicted^ and fined £2 and oosfe (£1 18s; Michael Graham, convicted ". and - fined £1 and fcosts (£1 115).,. -;, . ? <■ ' ' j In, the course of the proceedings Mr J. R. Kirk, counsel foi the Stock Department, , stated that' the department considered that for successful- poisoning operations a mini- , mumCof 'JLOlb^of^pollard "to the 100 acres should be laid/ In the case - of- Morven Hills "as much as £lb of' pollard to the , -acre; bad been Jaid in-: places. In the pro- 1 ceedings . it 'is worthy of record that his i.Worship^sjtatecl that this was the first, "occasion^ in • 'his -experience- in which an . attempt had been made to reasonably define. 1 the word -"numerous" as-- applied to J rabbits. As a rule; he had » found that in- I spectors and agents, when pressed* on the' point, had stated" that it meant that the rabbits could be, seen "in hundreds." In _| these '-proceedings" "Inspector" •■ CTapeott - had " statedrtHat he had' counted- as~"many 'as 16 in places^; and he complimented upon his^ fairness,. -'" * , T At "the,. Invercargill Police ' Court. a' young woman applied for, and obtained, a prohibition order against her ' husband- She has been married for about six rqonths, and during the whole of that time her : fcaaband bad been drinking, ' I

fairnese.