A great booklet full of information about the selection of RHDV1 K5 as a new biological control for rabbits in Australia has been produced by the Invasive Animals CRC. The booklet also sets out how landholders can involved in the release of the virus, and gives some history of rabbits and former control measures in Australia.
RHDV1 has been used as a bio-agent for rabbit control in Australia since 1996. A new virus, RHDV2, has now been found in NSW, Victoria and SA. For more information see the Update from the Invasive Animals CRC.
The ABC Landline program has provided a thorough update on the pending release of the RHDVK5 virus. To see the story and transcript visit the Landline website.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has approved the registration of a new RHDV K5 strain of rabbit calicivirus that will strengthen Australia’s ability to manage wild rabbits. Read more at the Minister’s Media Release. Landholders can register to be part of the national release. See PestSmart for more information.
Ferrets can still be a valued part of rabbit control – and they make good pets, according to ferret fancier Warren Bettridge. Click to see the article from The Land.
Alice Springs based author, Kaye Kessing, explains why she is so enthusiastic in the promotion of Easter Bilby in an ABC media article.
Why Easter Bilby and ‘Bilbies not Bunnies’ are promoted – a great article by RFA Patron, Brian Cooke, in ‘The Conversation’.
A new strain of RHDV (the rabbit calicivirus) is now on the move in South Australia, and researchers want to learn more about it. A blog from the Invasion Ecology Group of the University of Adelaide invites people to let them know of possible occurrences and to provide dead rabbits for examination.
Advice for landholders to control rabbits while their numbers are low after a dry summer. Port Lincoln Times article from Eyre Peninsula NRM
Amazing increases in the distribution and occurrence of the dusky hopping mouse, plains mouse and crest-tailed mulgara have been attributed to rabbit control. RHDV suppressed rabbit numbers, reducing competition for food and the pressure from rabbit-dependent predators like cats and foxes. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12684/abstract