Rabbits are rampant throughout the Adelaide Hills at present, according to listeners of ABC Radio Adelaide. Residents have called in from across the Hills with stories of abundant rabbits and the problems they are causing. People are noticing damage to crops and pastures, as well as gardens and vegetable patches, and even some undermining of […]
Rabbit-Free Australia memberships are now available for 2020-21. Members enable the Foundation to promote rabbit-related research, raise awareness of rabbit issues, and support on-ground control programs. They receive informative Newsletters during the year, a promotional bumper sticker for those first in, and an invitation to the Annual General Meeting which always features a great guest […]
Invasive species are credited with reducing global GDP by 5% (see the article by Dropulich), but it is difficult to get a real handle on the losses they cause. Financial losses are one thing – it is even harder to measure and value environmental losses. As an example of the latter, a recent paper by […]
Medical doctor and scientist, Dame Jean Macnamara, is credited with making Myxomatosis the great success story of biological control and applied science that it is. It wouldn’t have happened without her perseverance, and now the ABC is sharing her story, that of others who also worked to establish Myxomatosis, and the success that followed. It […]
Proposals to advance pest control solutions, improve existing control methods, or develop ‘farm ready’ control tools are being sought by the Australian Government. $13 million is available through the Advancing Pest Animal and Weed Control Solutions Competitive Grant Round, which is part of the Australian Government’s Established Pest Animal and Weed Management Pipeline. Organizations that […]
Rabbit numbers in the West Australian central wheatbelt have built up to levels that damage crops and pastures, according to the Central Wheatbelt Biosecurity Association. “While that damage is hard to quantify, when you see rabbits by the hundreds at night time and even quite a few running around during the day, you know that […]
‘Rabbits have caused serious damage to habitats, vegetation and farmland throughout our region’, according to Geelong Mayor, Stephanie Asher. The Geelong Council believe controlling rabbits, to prevent further harm to habitats and land, is vital to protecting the region’s environment. They’ve released a draft Control Plan for community feedback. See the Bay939 article by Lewis […]
Long term monitoring on Macquarie Island has shown that when rabbit populations were high the probability of albatross breeding dropped by one to two thirds. The studies also revealed a web of interactions between cats, rabbits, vegetation and albatrosses. Data collected between 1995 and 2014 showed that rabbit numbers increased when feral cats were removed […]
Blowflies are looking increasingly promising as an additional way to monitor the extent of calicivirus across Australia. A team led by Robyn Hall (CSIRO) have published the findings of research comparing the detection of RHDV in samples from flies with samples from dead rabbits, concluding that there was a good correlation between the two techniques; […]
The real story behind Easter Bunny, latest grants from Rabbit-Free Australia, or an update on calicivirus – no matter what your interest there is something for you in RFA’s 31st Newsletter, which is now available for public viewing: View it on-line, or Download a PDF