Low rabbit numbers on an Eyre Peninsula property may be due to an increase in RHDV K5 during cooler months – a result anticipated by Natural Resources Officer, Ben Tucker, who coordinated the local release of the virus at trial sites last year. For more information, see the November, 2018 Stock Journal article.
Australia’s feral rabbits fall into three primary genetic lineages, with three other highly localised ones, according to a recently published research paper. The results suggest the rabbits originated from different introductions across the country, rather than a single site. The research, assisted in part by funding from the Foundation for Rabbit Free Australia, examined the […]
CSIRO funded researchers have discovered why young rabbits are immune to RHDV1, but not RHDV2. It seems that young rabbits have a naturally heightened immune system, but RHDV2 is able to shut down the elevated immune state – whereas RHDV1 is not. For more information, see the Research Updates in Feral Flyer Issue 350 (the […]
Macquarie Island’s rebirth continues following the removal of rabbits, rodents and cats. Described as one of the most remarkable stories of conservation in Australia (if not the world), the vegetation on the island is now ‘just going nuts’ and bird life is also recovering, with ‘beaches littered with wildlife’. For more information, see the ABC […]
Ecological modellers have shown how reducing wild rabbit numbers helps maintain small native mammals. Benefits for small mammals occur when 30-40% of rabbits are removed through a mix of biological and physical controls. Higher rates of rabbit removal can lead to a decline in small mammals in the short term, but with subsequent long term […]
Gene drive technology (a way to spread a specific gene through a species) may have potential for feral animal control (especially in isolated pest populations), but non-technical questions are also being raised. For more information, see the ABC News article – ‘Feral science or feral solution‘.
Exposure of rabbits to the myxoma virus renders them less likely to survive RHDV, according to a soon to be published research paper. The research, led by Louise Barnett and assisted by RFA, shows that a combination of biological controls can have more impact than the sum of individual controls on their own. For more […]
An article by Peter Fleming concludes that ‘compassionate conservation’ (an approach focused on the ‘well-being of individual wild animals’) has the capacity to do harm to the cause of conservation in Australia and elsewhere. Referring to the damage rabbits cause to natural ecosystems, and hence the suffering caused to other animals, Peter argues that individuals […]
An article by Michael Bode highlights the importance of fox and cat control for fauna conservation,and muses about how good it would be if methods other than fencing could achieve that. Rabbits must also be considered – as competitors and habitat destroyers – for fauna conservation. The biological control of rabbits has benefited whole landscapes, […]
Following the arrival of RHDV2, European wild rabbit numbers dropped to around 20% of the average over the preceding ten years, according to recently published survey data. The results come from two long-term monitoring sites in South Australia, in the Flinders Ranges and at Turretfield. If the two sites are representative of other areas and […]