Controlling rabbits in Western Australia in the 1930s and 40s

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I was chatting with Ron (@RonRybs) about wild rabbits on Australian farms. Rabbits were introduced here by the early English settlers. Their numbers skyrocketed and, over the years, they have been responsible for many a farmer being unable to make a living from his land. Early farmers like my father (born in 1914) first erected fences round their paddocks which had five strands of wire. These were gradually replaced by rabbit-proof fences. The bottom few inches were often buried in the dirt to try to stop the rabbits digging under. When land was cleared, the vegetation was usually burnt. The roots and stones that were left behind would be hand-picked and thrown into heaps. These made ideal homes for rabbits. During the depression, my parents laid trails of poisoned oats at night, went back in the morning, skinned the dead rabbits and stretched the skins on wire frames. These were later sent to a tanning factory. The skins fetched 10/- each and this enabled them to survive through those tough years. There was an entry in an early diary that the rabbit inspector paid a visit. These men had a lot of authority. They would want to know what was being done to control the rabbit population. This might include trapping, poisoning, shooting, and ploughing up warrens. The inspector had the power to impose fines if he thought you weren’t doing enough to control rabbit numbers. Photo is of a peaceful farm scene in South Australia.