Rabbits are a major pest in the Mackenzie, through their direct impact on native vegetation and agricultural land, and because they are a food source for mammalian predators such as feral cats, ferrets and stoats. Higher pest numbers put native species at risk.
Rabbits eat their way through native vegetation and agricultural land, turning farmland into dustbowls riddled with burrows, where only weeds survive, and costing millions in lost production and control.
They don’t say ‘breeding like rabbits’ for nothing. Rabbits as young as five months’ old can have up to 50 babies a year and may be pregnant for 70% of a year. Eliminating rabbits, alongside predator control, will increase the survival of native birds, lizards, and bugs.
If we can sustain low rabbit numbers it will make a huge impact to the environment and support those land managers who already invest significant time and money to control rabbits.
Photos : Brian High, Robyn Janes, trail camera
