Where do you start with rabbit control? It’s a question we often hear so, with the help of fantastic technical advisors, Rabbit-Free Australia has produced a guide; ‘Keys to Rabbit Control’.
The short document is an easy to read distillation of the key principles and processes involved in rabbit control.
Agricultural enterprises are losing thousands of dollars of production due to rabbits in the NSW Riverina. Local Land Services officers are encouraging neighbouring properties to work together with coordinated programs of baiting followed by warren ripping for sustained control. Landholders are also engaging professional shooters, who are taking more than 1,000 rabbits per night. For […]
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 […]
Foundation for Rabbit-Free Australia has released a Discussion Paper outlining the case for a National Rabbit Management Coordinator, following broad consultation and in response to regulalry seeing first hand the need for such a position. A National Rabbit Coordinator would be expected to reinvigorate interest in rabbit control, promote relevant training, and stimulate the provision of […]
Rabbits seem to be a growing problem in urban and peri-urban areas around Australia. They cause problems ranging from raiding the veggie patch to undermining houses and sheds, and they can cause significant stress for the people affected. It is not just the physical damage they inflict but also the personal stress of having to […]
Effective planning is one of the keys to effective rabbit control – and now is a great time to start planning a summer control program. A case study from Riverina Local Land Services (NSW) shows the benefit of sound planning at a district scale (mapping warrens and arranging the most suitable machinery to use in […]
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 […]
Following floods and wet seasons in much of Australia it is time to think about strategic responses for recovery programs. Feral pests – especially rabbits – should feature in the mix according to Rabbit-Free Australia. ‘Floods may be bad news for rabbits, but after waters recede it can be boom time for bunnies – and […]
Summer is the ideal time for rabbit control through much of Australia, with conditions suitable for baiting, ripping and (assuming rabbits have stopped breeding in the absence of green grass) the release of RHDVK5. State and regional bodies have a key role to play in stimulating and supporting control programs and it is great to […]
Programs to eradicate invasive rats, cats, rabbits and goats have been a key to restoring the ecology on islands around the world according to a recent assessment of attempts on nearly 1,000 islands.