CONTROL OF RABBITS.

Shannon News, 1 November 1929, Page 3

CONTROL OF RABBITS.

A HOROWHENUA AREA. PETITION TO BE CIRCULATED TO FORM A BOARD. PROPOSED CO-OPERATION WITH MANAWATU. The movement to have a district " set apart on the Horowhenua coast for the operations of a Rabbit Board came to fruition yesterday afternoon, when a meeting of landowners interested was held in the Municipal ’Chambers, Levin, and it was decided to seek support for a petition formally requesting that a Board be set up. It was also considered advisable, and agreed upon, that the Manawatu Board be approached with a view of having the work of the two .Boards coordinated.

The meeting was atended by a dozen farmers, who came from the north, south and centre of the proposed district; and there were also present:. Mr R. Wright, principal inspector for tao Wellington district; Mr M. R. Findlay, an inspector stationed at Wellington: and Mr D. R. Barron, inspector for the Manawatu Board. Mr W. C. Hannan was voted to the chair. THE SUGGESTED DISTRICT. A plan brought by Mr Findlay was marked to show a district suitable to come under the control of the Board. Bounded by the sea on the west, it comprises an area enclosed by a line drawn from the mouth of the Manawatu River to the Wirokino bridge, thence along the Main Highway to Poroutawhao. from there in a southerly direction to the Horowhenua Lake, thence southwards to Buller Lake a*nd the Ohau River, -westward for a short distance along the river-bed, then southwards at an average distance of three miles from the coast till it stiikes the railway line at Pukehou, then along the railway to Rahui Road, which it follows in a south-easterly direction till it junctions with the Otaki River, then along the courre of the river to the sea. . TII6 chairman apologised for the aosence of Mr F. S.* Easton, who, he stated, was conversant with the position and was very much in favour of the formation of a Roard. He alsc tendered an apology on behalf of Mr T. G. Vincent, and stated, that that gentleman was also in favour of the movement. The chairman then introduce! IMr Wright and asked him to place some information, before the meeting. HOW THE BOARDS OPERATE.

Mr Wright etated that RabftD Boards had been formed in most of the' districts in the North Island. The areas which, the smaller Boards controlled ranged from 13,000 to about 200,000 acres. He would like to see a Board formed in this district, as rabbits wet a becoming more plentiful. Local control of the rabbit pest had always been found very much better than Government control. Under local control there would be thirty or forty thousand acres under the supervision of one officer; under Government control rabbit inspection was only a small parr of .a particular officer’s work, and he could not give the close attention' to it that would be given under local control. The Manawatu Board afforded an example with which most of those present were acquainted That/Board had taken over an, area when it wan badly, infested with rabbits, and after a few years’ working the Board had; reduced its rate and brought the number of. rabbits down to a minimum. The same kind of result had occurred in the ease of every ' Board in the Wellington district, rabbits being reduced by from 70 to CO per cent. The procedure to bo adopted for the formation of a Bpard involved the circulating of a petition in the proposed district, such, petition to be signed by a bare majority lof the ratepayers. As a rule, the number signing was considerably over a bare majority--generally from*-.60 lo 80 per cent, of the ratepayers had signed. He would be very pleased to see a Board established in this district, because, if the rabbits were not closely controlled, he was afraid there would be trouble in the near future.

Mr Findlay stated that he had marked the plan in consultation with various settlers all the way down the eoast between the Manawatu and Otaki Rivers.

Mr C. C. Holmes (Manawatu) said that the Government officers were in the,'best position to judge where the boundaries of the district should be. He considered that a Board ought to be formed, to operate over the district outlined by Mr Findlay. MATTERS OF ORGANISATION. In answer to questions, Mr Wright stated that every Board consisted of six members, five being elected and the other being the Government inspector for the district. The whole business of ‘ rabbit control, including methods of extermination and the employment of labour was in the hands of the Boards. Generally speaking a Board employed a paid secretary, but in the case of gome of the smaller Boards, the work was done by one of the settlers, in an honourary capacity. It would be as well, however, hot to rely on the latter system, but to make provision for a permanent secretary to do the executive work. With regard to the manual Operations, :n . some instances these were under the direct control of the Board, while in others the land-owners carried them out under an inspector. All: rates collected by the Boards boro a Government subsidy of £1 for £l. In order to qualify for the subsidy, a Board must have an area of not less *fhan 20,000 acres, and there must be not less than ten ratepayers There were some smaller Boards, but they received no subsidy. The system of .rating was on the basis of acreage, except where

it was advisable to rate on the stock- ' carrying capacity, but - the latter sys-

tem would not apply in this district. In an area Avhere the rabbits Avere very plentiful, it would be too great an expense for a Boafd to carry out all the practical operations direct, the better plan being to have an inspector appointed and require each settler to do his oAvn share of the work. None of the Boards that had started with an inspector had changed over tothe other system. A good many Boards, however, had done the work themselves i from the outset, and had achieved excellent results. If the rabbits were comparatively scarce, it Avas best for the Board to do the work, because it ! received the £1 for £1 subsidy. In the Manawatu district the work was done under an inspector. The method’ to beadopted in. this district would be a question for the Board to consider. The chairman stated that the cost of wire-netting one farm in the neighbouring district had been estimated at £ISOO, but after the formation of the Board the only cost to the owner wa3 a few pounds a year and the rabbits practically disappeared. STRIKING RESULTS IN MANAWATU. Mr Barron stated that the ManaAvatu Board had to its credit one of the record catches—4oo rabbits off 10 acres. Those rabbits had not all been living on the ten acres, but the extermination of such a number was neveithelcss remarkable; they had been caught Avith poison over that area. At the commencement of the ManaAyatu Board’s operations, he had interview' ed every farmer and then sent each a circular, and from that time on the scheme had been a success. At one time the Board had had to do with a certain percentage of farmers Avho had not realised their responsibilities, and there Avere a feAV prosecutions. Rabbits liked good feed; the more the pastures Avere top-dressed, the better pleased was the rabbit. Over 95 per cent, of the fanners in the Manawatu Board’s district now would do their share cf the Avork of (extermination. Tile Board had levied in the first year a rate of 2d, Avhicli was reduced to lsd in the next year, Id in the next, and Jthen to fd. By commencing with a 2d rate, the Board accumulated £600; its area Avas 80,000 acres. The £6OO was placed in the Saviugs Bank, and interest increased it to £660; then it Avas decided to help the settlers. The Board bought cyanide and sold- it to the settlers at half-price. In forming a Board for HoroAvhenua, the farmers should not be afraid of taking in plenty of country. ■ The Manawatu Board thought it had made the, mistake of not taking in enough country, and was now making arrangements to enlarge its area. ; CROWN AND NATIVE LANDS.

: Relying tb ( a (question regardiittg Crown lands and unindividualised Native lands, Mr Wright said that the Boards did the rabbiting on those lands ana charged the cost to the Government, Avhich refunded the money to the Boards. Where there were individual Native owners, they paid for the work themselves, but Avhere the land was held -on the community basis it was treated as OroAvn land. INDIVIDUAL COSTS.

The question Avas asked, if the farmer does the work himself under the inspector, Avill it be paid for out. of his rates. -

Mr Wright ansAvCred this in the nega-. tive, stating that the farmer. had to pay for this over and above his rates. The rates paid half the cost of the inspector, and the subsidy paid the other half. The inspector Avas in con-, stant touch Avith the settlers, to see that each did his;share; “and the.farmer takes good care, that he shake- up the neighbour, ” Mr Wright ■ added, amidst laughter. . , CONNECTION WITH NEIGHBOURING; BOARD.. Mr Findlay said it had been men-, tioiied to him by a gentleman Avho was unable to attend the meeting, that if a Board Avas formed for Horowhenua, it would be a ' good idea to join in with the ManaAvatu Board, so as to reduce the overhead casts.

-settler present one' time the Manawatu Board was favourable to such a system. It was in that Board’s power to say Avhether the proposal was acceptable to it.

The chairman asked for a motion in favour of forming a Boar.d and, if possible, linking up with the Manawatu Board. He thought that it would be .the best plan for the proposed Board to adopt the system under which rabbit. destruction was carried out by the farmers -under the inspector. It seemed to him that it was the duty of a person whose property was carrying rabbits to clear them. Without a Board some settlers did not do this work. 'The only course was a Board and see that the work was thoroughly carried out. Responding to a request for information. ‘as to.the position on Native lands, Me Barron said that in his district there were 33 acres held by Natives, and these holders hall done tip-: top work. There had never been a prosecution against any of them. Some of them were living on their properties, and others were not.

NEED FOR BOARD AGREED UPON On the motion of Mr Selwyn Simcox,. seconded by- Mr J. Hill, it was unanimously resolved to endeavour to form a Rabbit Board in the Horowhenua. district, according to the plan prepared by Mr Findlay, and to seek union with the Manawatu Board. The following gentlemen were ap pointed to take petitions round, to be signed by the landholders in the proposed district: —Messrs F. Holmes and S. Simcox, in the southern portion: Messrs J. Hill and W. Q. Hannan, in the central portion; Mi; T. Winiata, to interview Native owners; and Messrs S. Jackson and T. G. Vincent, in. the northern portion They were also constituted !as a provisional committee, with authority to make the preliminary arrangements for the establishment of the Board,„to consult ,wij;h f andimeet the Mar.awatu Board. » ». THANKS TO INSPECTORS. The* chairman thanked Messrs

Wriglit, Findlay and Barron for having attended the meeting and placed much useful .information before it. He specially.; mentioned the great amount of work- done by Mr Findlay in preparation for-the> forming of the proposed district. • Mr Ilamian added that,'with the ..spirit shown at. this gathering, there should nit be much trouble in forming a Board, and he thought it would be a move in the right direction. Mr Findlay, in responding, said that the Department liked to help all settlers who 'were willing to help themselves.

Mr Wright said he was very pleased with the decision that had been made. Better work would be done under local control, than, in . any other way. Mr Barron, stated that it was part of his work over and give every possible , assistance. Whether or not the Maiiawafu Board would consent to a linking-up, it would give the proposed Board all the help it could.