For the latest information on rabbit control research and best practice rabbit control, register for the 2024 Rabbit R&D Webinar. The Webinar will also cover research showing how rabbits are still harming the environment. Co-hosted by Rabbit-Free Australia and the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions (CISS) the free two hour Webinar will bring together leading […]
Effective rabbit control requires the planned integration of different control techniques, but a recent paper in the Journal of Pest Science by Taggart et al concluded that ‘Land managers view RHDV as a ‘silver bullet’ and release it to avoid applying more expensive but more effective control methods’. This conclusion was reached after the authors […]
A recent analysis shows that wild rabbits in Australia developed resistance to myxomavirus in a stepped manner, with the second step likely triggered by the introduction of European rabbit fleas. It poses the question of whether further changes in resistance occurred following the advent of RHDV and RHDV2, but no such studies have been undertaken […]
The continuing ecological recovery of Macquarie Island demonstrates the effectiveness of starting at the bottom of the food web to generate landscape health. An initial focus on feral cats triggered a boom in rabbit and rat populations. Eliminating rabbits, rats and mice paved the way for predator removal and triggered a revival in vegetative habitat […]
The recent Rabbit R&D Update webinar was a source of great information on rabbits, bio-controls and the impact of rabbits on the environment, including sustaining feral predators. Materials from the webinar are now available: Presentations as PDFs: Brian Cooke, European rabbit fleas. Katherine Moseby, Rabbits & feral cats. Andreas Glanznig, Nationally coordinated rabbit biocontrol R&D. […]
Monitored since an introduction of calicvirus in 1996, a rabbit colony on Turretfield Research Centre (South Australia) is the longest serving, continually monitored rabbit research site in the world. Data from the site have helped deliver a better understanding of rabbit biology, the transmission and effect of bio-controls (RHDV, RHDV2 and myxomatosis), and rabbit genetics, […]
In a global first, gene drive technology has been successfully applied to an invasive mammal. Previous applications have targeted invertebrates, like malaria-spreading mosquitoes. In this case, the technology was used to induce female infertility in mice. Gene drive technology can be precisely targeted to individual species and offers hope as a humane, toxin-free means of […]
Current strains of myxomatosis are far more virulent than that released in 1950, but rabbits have increased resistance as well. Nonetheless, myxo is still important for rabbit control in Australia.
Videos presentations on the environmental and economic impact of rabbits, the latest research on how RHDV is working, and Easter Bilby as an advocate for rabbit control, are now available. The presentations are from a recent webinar co-convened by Rabbit-Free Australia and Centre for Invasive Species Solutions (CISS). The videos are available via CISS and […]
Stop-start, short-term, piecemeal research isn’t going to deliver the comprehensive programs of effort required for success in rabbit control.