Coordinated neighbourhood rabbit control

Landholders are being encouraged to work with their neighbours to coordinate rabbit control programs on Eyre Peninsula. The local Landscape Board has issued a reminder that rabbits are a significant problem and that coordinated programs, timed to take advantage of seasonal conditions and the effectiveness of different control mechanisms, are the best solution. For more […]

Summer rabbits – how to respond

Early summer can result in more sightings of rabbits, especially young ones born since breeding that was stimulated by spring rainfall. The RHDV1-K5 virus has been approved for release but it doesn’t kill young rabbits – it actually provides them with life-long immunity. So now is not the time for a planned K5 release. Instead, […]

Revamped Pest Management Website – Rabbit control guides

The PestSmart website, which provides best practice guides for rabbits and other vertebrate pests, has been revamped by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions. Structured around a Plan > Manage > Improve framework, it provides a practical approach and countless resources all tailored to help land managers deal with invasive pests. As examples, for rabbits, […]

Feral cats inquiry

A submission from Foundation for Rabbit-Free Australia was one of over  hundred received by the Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy as part of its ‘Inquiry into the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia’. The issue was referred to the House of Representatives committee by the Minister for the Environment, the Hon […]

Rabbits = headaches in the Adelaide Hills

Rabbits are rampant throughout the Adelaide Hills at present, according to listeners of ABC Radio Adelaide. Residents have called in from across the Hills with stories of abundant rabbits and the problems they are causing. People are noticing damage to crops and pastures, as well as gardens and vegetable patches, and even some undermining of […]

Landline tells Myxo story.

Medical doctor and scientist, Dame Jean Macnamara, is credited with making Myxomatosis the great success story of biological control and applied science that it is. It wouldn’t have happened without her perseverance, and now the ABC is sharing her story, that of others who also worked to establish Myxomatosis, and the success that followed. It […]

Rabbits damaging crops in WA Central Wheatbelt

Rabbit numbers in the West Australian central wheatbelt have built up to levels that damage crops and pastures, according to the Central Wheatbelt Biosecurity Association. “While that damage is hard to quantify, when you see rabbits by the hundreds at night time and even quite a few running around during the day, you know that […]

Rabbits reduce albatross breeding success

Long term monitoring on Macquarie Island has shown that when rabbit populations were high the probability of albatross breeding dropped by one to two thirds. The studies also revealed a web of interactions between cats, rabbits, vegetation and albatrosses. Data collected between 1995 and 2014 showed that rabbit numbers increased when feral cats were removed […]

Long term benefits from rabbit control.

The long term benefits of rabbit control are likely to outweigh the short term costs for native species affected by ‘prey-switching’, is the conclusion of a recent New Zealand study. The research examined the effects of rabbit control on ferrets (an invasive predator) and alternative prey species. It found that after rabbits were controlled, ferret […]

Tassie Devils help Bandicoots.

Bandicoots flourish in the presence of Tasmanian Devils, apparently because the Devils suppress feral cats that otherwise prey on the native mammals, according to a recent study by Calum Cunningham of the University of Tasmania. The research found 58% fewer cats in areas with healthy devil populations compared to places where devils had declined; and […]