Multi-pronged approach needed for rabbit control

Rabbits are a persistent problem in many parts of Australia and require an equally persistent, multi-pronged response – that’s the message from a recent ABC News report. The ability of rabbits to breed quickly in good seasons, and the ever-changing dynamics between rabbits and biological controls, make surges in wild rabbit populations an enduring threat […]

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 […]

Search to begin for the next rabbit bio-control.

First there was myxomatosis, then RHDV, but what is next? Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) are funding CSIRO to search for the next potential rabbit bio-control for Australia, according to a recent announcement from the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions (CISS). The $7.7 million project aims to assess rabbit viruses from south America as potential […]

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 […]

Managing Invasive Species – impacts & indicators

Invasive species are credited with reducing global GDP by 5% (see the article by Dropulich), but it is difficult to get a real handle on the losses they cause. Financial losses are one thing – it is even harder to measure and value environmental losses. As an example of the latter, a recent paper by […]

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 […]

Geelong Council plans rabbit control

‘Rabbits have caused serious damage to habitats, vegetation and farmland throughout our region’, according to Geelong Mayor, Stephanie Asher. The Geelong Council believe controlling rabbits, to prevent further harm to habitats and land, is vital to protecting the region’s environment. They’ve released a draft Control Plan for community feedback. See the Bay939 article by Lewis […]

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 […]

Blowflies tracking calicivirus

Blowflies are looking increasingly promising as an additional way to monitor the extent of calicivirus across Australia. A team led by Robyn Hall (CSIRO) have published the findings of research comparing the detection of RHDV in samples from flies with samples from dead rabbits, concluding that there was a good correlation between the two techniques; […]