Bob Kerridge: Germ warfare will annihilate rabbits

Bob Kerridge

One of the things that really concerns me with the New Zealand psyche is the habit of quickly labelling certain species of animals as "pests". It occurs regularly and, once labelled thus, the animals in question lose their status of protection under the Animal Welfare Act, allowing their total extermination by whatever merciless method we deem convenient.

This totally intolerant blanket appraisal of certain groups of animals seems to have developed within us an inclination to do the same with groups of people: those in certain professions, those from particular or ethnic groups and those with habits and beliefs that differ from our own. That's another flaw in our psyche, and another story.

However, back to the unfortunate animals who bear the "pest" label. The rabbit is one such creature constantly in the spotlight, its misfortune exacerbated by its ability to reproduce profusely if left alone, with the resultant population explosion that drives some affected farmers to distraction.

There was a time when rabbits were managed under the direction of the Rabbit Destruction Council, and when that ceased to exist so, too, did any measures to curb their numbers or even to productively use them.

It has always confused me that, given their numbers and their potential usefulness in farming terms, they have never been harnessed, as evidenced by the fact that, ironically, we import tonnes of them from Australia in cans of pet food.

Accordingly, and inevitably, rabbits quickly earned the title of "pests" and their detractors soon set about devising simple ways by which they could annihilate them completely.

The first attempt was to attack by means of germ warfare through the introduction of a virus known as myxomatosis into New Zealand in 1985. English farmers vividly recall the horror when the myxomatosis strain accidentally escaped from France and crossed the Channel onto the southern coast.

Here the green fields of the countryside were littered with deformed, agonised rabbits whose slow death screams pierced the silence of the nights to the extent that farmers were so distressed they would leave their beds to despatch the suffering animals with a single shot.

Naturally, on environmental and animal welfare grounds, we fought a long hard battle to dissuade the authorities from allowing the introduction of this vile virus, an argument that mercifully was strong enough to stop it.

Undeterred, yet another virus was proposed by a small group, this time in the form of RHD (rabbit haemorrhagic disease), also known as rabbit calicivirus. Again on environmental and humane grounds, conscious of the animals' suffering and its indiscriminate attack on breeding stock and family pets, we took a defensive stance.

Incredibly, while the debate continued, a rebellious few imported and illegally released the virus into New Zealand in 1997. There was no reprimand, no censure, no castigation and no litigation. It was illegal, but it was a done deal.

Now, in what can only be described as a retrospective sanction of those illegal actions, a consortium of 10 from 13 regional councils have, with the unbelievable support of the Environmental Risk Management Authority and the Food Safety Authority's agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines group, succeeded in importing the virus from Australia for approved release.

There was no seeking of community approval, no debate on welfare grounds, no consultation with anyone, just another done deal.

Is it because the rabbit is perceived by some to be a "pest" and therefore able to be subjected to this total eradication without any approval being necessary? Or is it because we must accept the fate that has been decreed by those on high, not only for the rabbits but also for ourselves and our environment?

Within 24 hours of receiving this news I had a telephone call from a distressed family in the south of Auckland who had just buried five of their pet rabbits which had died, according to the autopsy, as a result of the virus. As we spoke, a sixth and very much loved pet lay dying before their eyes on their lounge carpet.

What was I to say to that understandably distraught family? That their beloved pets had been lumbered with the label of "pests" and that accordingly they were being systematically executed?

I don't think so. I don't buy that argument at all, and neither, as a caring community, should we succumb or allow the pest mentality to take over our minds and our actions when animals' (and perhaps other) lives are at stake.

* Bob Kerridge is the chief executive of the SPCA Auckland.