Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 406 Battle between Man and Rabbit

  It is ridiculous that the biggest trouble Australia is currently facing is the hare disaster.

  This serious problem even alarmed the Red Fort, but after careful study, it was found that this problem is far less simple than imagined, and there is almost no solution.

  As early as the eighteenth century, Australia did not have such an animal as a rabbit.

  At first, I had to start with a British officer who brought 24 rabbits to Australia because rabbits have no natural enemies and the environment is suitable. Therefore, after an accidental fire caused the rabbits to escape, they quickly reproduced here.

  Hare has two wombs, four at a time, and basically six times a year. The baby rabbits that are born will enter maturity after four to six months, and they will give birth together.

  The reproductive ability of rabbits is very strong, and it is like a fish in water in Australia.

  To put it simply, new rabbits appear every few months, and there are no natural enemies to control their numbers, so the hares are instantly flooded in Australia and become one of the most threatening invasive species.

  In Australia, the thylacine, the most threatening hare, is the enemy of the ranch. As long as the rancher and cowboy see it, they will inevitably kill the thylacine to prevent it from harming the sheep.

  For many years, the number of thylacine populations has been encircled and suppressed by humans. The number of thylacine populations has been drastically reduced, and it is even difficult to find a trace in many areas. This has further promoted the explosive growth of the hare population, and it has become more and more difficult to contain the trend.

  It’s really not a bit of a joke. Hundreds of hares are often seen spreading over in the wilderness. The sight is shocking.

  As there is no threat from natural enemies, the Australian hare gradually develops into a huge size, the heaviest one can even reach a hundred catties, which is as big as a piglet.

  Such a big hare runs as fast as the wind, and even the thylacine is not afraid of it in the wild.

  Rough calculations, there are hundreds of millions of Australian hares.

  The Queensland Self-Government Office once planned to stop hunting and killing thylacines and introduce ferocious carnivores such as wild wolves, wild leopards, and lynx to curb the uncontrolled growth of hares, but most of them were rejected one by one.

  The reason is similar to that of the thylacine. The thylacine’s habit is mainly to prey on sheep. Compared with the sheep with large flesh and tenderness and gentle personality, the hare that runs fast in the wilderness is more difficult to catch.

  Even if more carnivorous animals are introduced, the sheep on the pasture may suffer more harm.

  The only species introduced is lynx. Because lynx is small, it mainly preys on voles and hares, and causes relatively little harm to sheep and humans.

The    plan was rejected by Li Fushou before it was implemented. He just asked, “How many lynxes need to be introduced to control the hare population?”

  Think about it. It’s to let go of the belly and let the lynx eat. I’m afraid that one ten-thousandth of the increase in the number of hares each year cannot be eliminated. So what is the point of introducing this new species?

  Some people suggest that you let go of your belly to eat, such as spicy rabbit meat, spicy rabbit head, braised rabbit meat, dry-stir-fried rabbit meat, roasted rabbit meat, rabbit meat hot pot, etc., in fact, the effect is not good.

  This is because Australia's lamb is too cheap, and the price is lower than that of vegetables. No matter what kind of consumer group can afford it, who is willing to give up delicious lamb and eat rabbit meat all day long?

  Is roast lamb not fragrant?

  Is roast lamb not tasty?

  Isn’t boiled lamb delicious?

  Sauerkraut and lamb hot pot is not mouth watering?

  Occasionally, it's okay to change the taste of the toothpaste festival, and it is definitely not realistic to consume for a long time.

  Don’t blame the tastes of the Chinese immigrants to Australia. This is due to human nature. Lamb and rabbit meat are not a grade of food at all, and they are completely incomparable.

  Finally, the Queensland Self-Government issued "Several Resolutions on the Complete Elimination of the Hare Infestation", and several important measures were taken.

  The first article encourages the people to make suggestions and suggestions, and gives great rewards to practical suggestions.

  The second article grants a shotgun subsidy, 2 shillings pence for every shotgun purchased, and encourages the masses to buy shotguns and go hunting in the wild. The main prey is wild rabbits.

  The third article is to offer a reward for the purchase of wild rabbit skins. 6 wild rabbit skins can be exchanged for one penny, and there is no cap.

  The fourth article is to call on the whole people to mobilize, take advantage of holidays to go wild rabbits in the wild, and hold wild rabbits competitions, to achieve an organic combination of entertainment and the elimination of invasive alien species such as wild rabbits.

  Article 5, restaurant chefs are encouraged to innovate new flavors of wild rabbits, new popular dishes, and encourage everyone to let go of their belly to eat, in order to achieve the purpose of curbing the spread of wild rabbits.

  Article 6, preferential tax reductions and exemptions are implemented for enterprises engaged in the rabbit skin trade and rabbit meat trade, and enterprises are encouraged to expand their business scale.

  Article 7, it is recommended that the army's live ammunition training and field training should focus on the hunting of wild rabbits, and focus on encircling and suppressing the hare-affected areas to completely reverse the current unfavorable situation.

eighth……

In order to create greater momentum and mobilize residents to actively participate in the encirclement and suppression campaign against the hares, Li Fushou, Earl of Queensland, and his wife were lightly dressed, riding horses and guns to hunt hares in the wild. The media mouthpiece "World Journal" specially published this Large-scale comments and photos have caused an upsurge in society.

  On the photo

  Queensland Earl Li Fushou and his wife Gu Liuyan were wearing fitted riding uniforms, holding custom-made expensive shotguns, and smiling triumphantly on their faces.

  Behind the two of them, there are guards with horses and a large number of killed hares, neatly placed in rows on the vast field, almost covering the background space, showing the fruitful results of the hunt.

  This "Queensland, Australia launches an unprecedented scale of battle between rabbits and humans" was quickly reprinted by major newspapers around the world, and it became well-known for a time.

Many keen businessmen came to the door. Among them, they came from North America, Canada, Tsarist Russia, Sweden and other cold and high-latitude countries. They were fond of cheap rabbit skin clothing. By the way, sheepskin clothing was also sold well. This It is an unexpected joy.

  The action of the Queensland Self-Government Office is commendable, and the countermeasures taken are also very effective, which quickly triggered a wave of wild rabbit hunting in the society.

  Every weekend

  The residents will call friends to ride on their horses, bring their shotguns to hunt hares, and hold a unique barbecue party by the way.

  As the main course, hare meat is of course indispensable.

In this battle between people and rabbits in the whole society, various industry associations have played an active role, textile industry associations, steel associations, dock associations, grain and oil traders associations, Chaoshan associations, Jiangxi associations, Jiangsu and Zhejiang associations, and various school groups. Organizing large-scale encirclement hunting operations, launching rounds of wild rabbit elimination competitions, all of a sudden become a trend.

The military was not idle either. The Dragoon Division and the Tiger Cavalry Division sent cavalry units in platoons to continuously carry out long-distance field training. The hunting of wild rabbits was used as a recruit training assessment item, and the battle was practiced, and they achieved excellent results. Effect.

  From May to July

  In the vast land of Queensland, Australia, which spans thousands of miles, loud gunshots can be heard almost everywhere. The trend of large-scale hare spread was immediately curbed, and the number was drastically reduced by more than half.

  According to incomplete statistics

  In this round of large-scale social participation in the elimination of hares, more than 40 million hares were killed before and after, but the rabbit skins received were very few, only more than 1.2 million, which is less than 1/30.

The reason

The reward for six rabbit skins and one penny is too low. People participate more out of enthusiasm or wild hunting hobbies, rather than for worthless rabbit skins and bad rabbit meat. Even if the rabbit is killed, I don't want to spend a lot of time peeling, but let it be thrown away in the wilderness.

  Think about it too

Killing a wild rabbit with a single shot is very simple, but to peel it, at least find a place to hang it up. It also requires skilled techniques and spends more time. The Australian wild rabbit is as heavy and generally weighs more than 30 or 40 catties. , Transportation on the wasteland is also a big problem.

  How many rabbits can a horse carry?

  Adding to the knight’s death, he brought seven or eight more rabbits with him. They worked so hard to get them back. The value is only one penny or two pennies, which is not worthwhile.

  The reason why the reward is so low, the State Autonomous Office also has its own difficulties.

Except for Brisbane, all other prosperous areas in Queensland are in the Red River Valley Earl's Territory, and the main taxes are also collected by the Earl. That is the power of the feudal lord, including law and order, taxation and justice, all controlled in the hands of the Red Fort , It can be said to be rich.

In fact, the State Self-Governing Office is mainly based on Brisbane taxation, which supports most of the sky. Many policies require the strong financial support of the Red Fort, including the in-depth development plan of northern Queensland, which is now in full swing, mainly under the Red Fort. As major companies contribute capital, the property rights are naturally owned by major companies.

  What Queensland can do is to expand tax sources and increase tax revenue. In fact, financial resources have been tight.

  If the reward is raised to arouse the enthusiasm of the residents, it will collapse in minutes.

  That...

  The policy is mainly to encourage and lead. The economic factor is second. It is unrealistic to rely on this to make a fortune, and even the cost of buying shotgun bullets is not enough.

  The enthusiasm in society came and went quickly. By August 1884, few people still insisted on hunting on holidays, and most of the residents returned to their usual peaceful lives.

  Influenced by the British, the most popular sports in Queensland society are football, polo, rowing, dragon boat racing, snooker and golf, as well as the emerging sports table tennis, which are all popular among the people.

  Football is the hottest among them. Each of Queensland's major associations has their own football teams, which regularly hold matches, attracting a large number of people onlookers, and their influence is very large.

Football is also very popular in the army, but the army is best at polo. Dragoons, tiger cavalry, leopard cavalry and wolf cavalry are the traditional four horses of polo. It is difficult for private guilds to contend with, let alone. Break this traditional pattern.

  Compared with rowing, the Chinese prefer the lively dragon boat races. The annual Qinglong Lake Dragon Boat Race is a grand event. Strong teams from all sides gather here to compete for the highest glory of the dragon boat race, the "Earl of Dragon Boat Race Gold Cup".

  (End of this chapter)