Highlighting the devastation due to invasive species and the imperative of investment in their control remains as relevant as ever according to several recent articles – especially given the impact of alien species on native species, ecosystem services, human health, and food production. A study published in ‘Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment’ found that […]
The national Bilby Recovery Plan is under review, and new research may help re-introductions in southern Australia. The Bilby was adopted as a mascot by RFA to highlight the impact of rabbits on native wildlife and vegetation. According to the draft Recovery Plan for the Greater Bilby; ‘Bilby distribution is associated with an absence or […]
Several recent news stories highlight the importance of controlling feral animals, like rabbits, cats and foxes, in order to restore native ecosystems. Scientists have shown that invasive species are responsible for hundreds of species becoming extinct, and have concluded that removing invasive species from islands would benefit nearly 10% of the most endangered species on […]
The RHDV1-K5 team from the Centre for Invasive Species (CISS) has won a National Biosecurity Award for work in the 2017 release and monitoring of the rabbit control virus. When accepting the Award, the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions noted it was a strong cooperative endeavour between the Australian Government, NSW Department of Primary Industries, […]
The TGB Osborn Vegetation Reserve at Koonamore is the longest-running vegetation monitoring site of its kind in Australia – and site data is now readily available to researchers. The site has not been grazed by sheep for over 50 years, and has been rabbit-free for over 40 yrs – so there is a wealth of […]
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 […]
‘Rabbit histories’, tracking the mortality of over 4,000 rabbits, are now available from a long-term monitoring site at Turretfield Research Centre in South Australia. For twenty years, rabbit populations on the property have been routinely estimated and sampled, providing data that is proving useful on many fronts.Blood and tissue samples provide evidence of the incidence […]
Wild rabbits exposed to Myxomatosis are more susceptible to RHDV (Calici virus), compared to rabbits without prior exposure. That is the conclusion of researchers looking at eighteen years of data from a continuously monitored site at Turretfield, South Australia. Dr Louise Barnett from Flinders University presented the findings at a recent annual general meeting of […]
Fresh insights into all things RFA are available in the Chairman’s Reports, from May and August, 2017.
Author of ‘Those Wild Rabbits’, Bruce Munday, is interviewed on the ABC Radio’s ‘Conversations’. Listen to the ABC interview for some great yarns about bunnies and their control.