Farmers who injected the rabbit calicivirus disease into
live rabbits in cages before freeing them to spread the
disease were breaking the law and could be prosecuted,
the national animal advisory committe said yesterday.
But the Agriculture Ministry said the practice was hardly
used now that the virus was occurring naturally, and the
ministry was unlikely to prosecute people who had done
it when the virus first arrived in New Zealand earlier this year.
The ministry and committee confirmed it would not be illegal
to collect dead rabbits from the field and make viral material
from their carcasses.
Committee chairman Keith Robinson said farmers who had
helped spread the virus initially were reported to have generated
it by infecting rabbits in a cage with virus mixture.
After thay had died, the rabbits were removed and other rabbits
and other rabbits were put in the cage. Some of these were injected
with the virus before being freed.
"These actions were all manipulations of live animals dependant
on humans for their care and sustenance, as defined in the Animals
Protection Act," Mr Robinson said. "Since the farmers had no
approved code of ethical conduct, their actions amount to criminal
offences."
The animals were cosidered dependent in that they were unable to
escape.
The fact they were pests was irrelevant under the act, Mr Robinson
said.
Anyone who used live animals for experimental purposes was
required by law to have an approved code of ehical conduct in
place before such work was carried out.
The committe was set up by the agriculture minister about
10 years ago and reports directly to the minister.