November 15, 2017
This is “Our
Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
On Monday we
had a similar story to this one, which is about the need to control the population
of animals that were a threat to the survival of farmers and ranchers. In the 1930s, when very little else was
thriving in western Kansas, the population of black tailed jackrabbits
exploded. The rabbits were pests, which
needed to be eliminated. Farmers and
ranchers had lost their crops and thus their income.
A local
resident recalled that the rabbits ate all of the vegetation above the ground,
then dug down and ate the roots. Grass
was sparse after years of severe drought.
Cattlemen estimated that 60 rabbits ate as much as a cow. Ranchers and farmers asked neighbors to help
round up and exterminate the fast breeding rabbits.
Organizations
such as the American Legion and Farm Bureau chapters began sponsoring rabbit
drives. These drives became spectacular
public events. Thousands of people
participated and tens of thousands of rabbits were killed. The residents
gathered on horses, in cars and on foot to drive the rabbits through the fields
into the holding pens. The rabbits were
then handed out for dinner during the depression days or sold for their skins.
Even though
I am not a hunter, I appreciate the need to control the population of animals
that can quickly overpopulate and do damage to fields, crops and even our
domesticated animals. So, thank you to
those who participate in legal hunting and use the meat for personal use.
And… that’s today’s
story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
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