They breed like rabbits..., Rabbit dilemma in Australia. |
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 Jul 6 2007, 10:53 PM
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#1
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 AttacKATTack!  Group: Member Posts: 697 Joined: Jun 2007 Member No: 536,660  |
Introduction
I was watching a special on Discovery Channel about a huge rabbit problem in Australia. I noticed that a majority of the topics in debate center around America. However, there are other problems in the world that need to be recognized. You may have heard the phrase 'breed like rabbits', but you may or may not know the implications of it. Normally, we think of rabbits as cute and cuddly creatures, but they are actually a pest that is slowly destroying the Australian ecosystem.  Approximately 1/8 of Australia's native species are extinct because of rabbits.  How can rabbits affect the economy? Rabbits eat seedlings, grass, any plant they can get their paws on. Rabbits live together in herds that live in linked burrows called warrens and there can be as many as 1000 rabbits in one warren. A pasture that may look like this  can be turned into this  These changes in landscape can severely damage industries in agriculture and herding because crops will not be able to grow and cattle or sheep not able to graze. How did rabbits get into Australia? Rabbits were introduced by Europeans who settled in Australia in 1788. 24 rabbits were brought for hunting. It all started with 24 rabbits and now there are over 300 million. How did foxes come into the picture? Foxes have been introduced into Australia to help keep the rabbit population down. In 1850, Europeans brought foxes with them and the fox population has also increased to approximately 7.2 million. Both animals pose a threat to Australia's native wildlife. How can rabbits drive other animals into extinction? As previously stated, foxes have been released in several parts of Australia to keep the rabbit population at bay. Normally, foxes prey on rabbits in their natural habitats outside of Australia, but because there are animal species in Australia that are slower and less adapted (such as bandicoots and wombats) foxes tend to target those animals instead. What measures have been taken against rabbit overpopulation? - shooting - destroying warrens through ripping, ploughing, blasting and fumigating - poisoning - traps QUOTE Releasing rabbit-borne diseases has proven somewhat successful in controlling the population of rabbits in Australia. In 1950, Myxomatosis was deliberately released into the rabbit population which caused the rabbit population to drop from an estimated 600 million to around 100 million. Genetic resistance in the remaining rabbits allowed the population to recover to 200-300 million by 1991. Also... QUOTE The rabbit-proof fence was built in Western Australia, between Cape Kerundun and Esperance to try to control the rabbit population. European rabbits can both jump very high and burrow underground. Even assuming a perfectly intact fence stretching for hundreds of miles, and assuming that ranchers or farmers do not leave gates open for livestock or machinery, it was unlikely to be a success. What animals have been driven to extinction/endagerment? - Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat: Critically endangered - Pigfooted Bandicoot: Extinct - Western Barred Bandicoot: Endangered - Lake Mackay Hare-Wallaby: Extinct - Eastern Hare-Wallaby: Extinct - Toolache Wallaby: Extinct - Parma Wallaby: Extinct - Bridled Nail-Tail Wallaby: Endangered - Crescent Nail-Tail Wallaby: Extinct - Proserpine Rock-Wallaby: Endangered and a lot more!! Question: What do you suggest should be done to control the rabbit population and why? |
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Replies
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Jul 6 2007, 11:03 PM
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#2
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 Photoartist Group: Staff Alumni Posts: 12,363 Joined: Apr 2006 Member No: 399,390 |
Kill ze bebes.
Will wait for others to reply. |
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Jul 6 2007, 11:17 PM
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#3
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 Kimberly Group: Member Posts: 1,961 Joined: Apr 2005 Member No: 121,599 |
Have them neutered / spayed?
 Unforunately I dont think there's much than can be done that would be humane. But something definitely needs to be done. |
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Jul 6 2007, 11:27 PM
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#4
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 dripping destruction Group: Staff Alumni Posts: 7,282 Joined: Jun 2004 Member No: 21,929 |
give em all STDs.
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| *kryogenix* |
Jul 7 2007, 05:50 PM
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#5
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Guest |
Damn, I thought this topic was going to be about ghetto people.
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Jul 8 2007, 01:15 AM
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#6
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 Sing to Me Group: Member Posts: 1,825 Joined: Apr 2004 Member No: 10,808 |
australia also had a problem with a certain wildboar breed several years back. it helped them recover their population but they began reproducing too fast and the number was threatening the livelihood of other species. animal control groups ran into trouble trying to reduce the number by setting up traps and plain shooting them. animal rights activists thought it was rather cruel considering the animals were in this problem because of humans. i believe australia is still dealing with this problem. there is not much more they can do that they aren't already doing. obviously, they can set up more traps, find a stronger rabbit disease, etc. while reducing the population is important, australia should try to put more effort into protecting the endangered species. |
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Jul 8 2007, 01:38 AM
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#7
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Photoartist Group: Staff Alumni Posts: 12,363 Joined: Apr 2006 Member No: 399,390 |
QUOTE(Endless_Symphony @ Jul 8 2007, 02:15 AM)  animal control groups ran into trouble trying to reduce the number by setting up traps and plain shooting them. animal rights activists thought it was rather cruel considering the animals were in this problem because of humans. |
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Jul 8 2007, 05:41 PM
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#8
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AttacKATTack! Group: Member Posts: 697 Joined: Jun 2007 Member No: 536,660 |
QUOTE(brownsugar @ Jul 8 2007, 08:15 AM) Man, did some of you even read the thing? At first I was like.."ok, who cares.." but reading the whole article changed my mind. They still have some of those species in zoos around the world right? They are just extinct in Australia right? I don't know maybe they should release another kind of rabbit disease. 600million to 100million is a huge difference. Yeah, they do have species in areas closed off to avoid rabbit penetration (that sounds funny). I agree with another rabbit disease. However, if 1% of the rabbits were immune to the first epidemic and were able to breed and recover the population lost, what's the chance that another one won't have the same effect? If anyone here is an animal activist that opposes the mass killing of European rabbits, I'd like to hear your side of the story, too. 
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Jul 8 2007, 06:53 PM
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#9
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 i'm maggie =] Group: Member Posts: 3,607 Joined: Jan 2006 Member No: 361,616 |
QUOTE(Arjuna Capulong @ Jul 6 2007, 09:03 PM) Kill ze bebes. Will wait for others to reply. haha, i love that. i agree with kimberly..unfortunately..there isnt much that can be done. like you said, there are LOTS of them..and trying to get them spayed/neutered would be extrememly hard and very costly. i guess some farmers could say, "kill them when we see them." and i suppose that it would work..until PETA comes knocking on their door. |
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Jul 8 2007, 06:59 PM
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#10
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dripping destruction Group: Staff Alumni Posts: 7,282 Joined: Jun 2004 Member No: 21,929 |
QUOTE(kryogenix @ Jul 7 2007, 05:50 PM) Damn, I thought this topic was going to be about ghetto people. wait, it's not? well, my answer's still the same. |
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Jul 8 2007, 07:02 PM
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#11
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Photoartist Group: Staff Alumni Posts: 12,363 Joined: Apr 2006 Member No: 399,390 |
I don't think they'd mind killing a couple of rabbits to keep other species of animals alive.
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Jul 8 2007, 07:05 PM
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#12
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Kimberly Group: Member Posts: 1,961 Joined: Apr 2005 Member No: 121,599 |
QUOTE(voguelove @ Jul 8 2007, 07:53 PM) haha, i love that. i agree with kimberly..unfortunately..there isnt much that can be done. like you said, there are LOTS of them..and trying to get them spayed/neutered would be extrememly hard and very costly. i guess some farmers could say, "kill them when we see them." and i suppose that it would work..until PETA comes knocking on their door. But I really wish they could do something like that. It would definitely be the most humane option. But there's just too many of them. Nevermind... you werent agreeing with them to be spayed. I wonder if they could be rounded up and given some type of shot that would make them unable to reproduce? They'd still have to catch them just like they would if they were spaying/neutering them, but it'd save money and time. But it still seems like it'd be nearly impossible to catch them all. Or I wonder if instead of the farmers killing them, if they would be able to catch them and treat them? That probably wouldnt work either. Or put out some type of food that would either make them sick or unable to produce, that only they would be attracted to? But even if just 1/4 of them were caught and treated, I'm sure that'd slow them down at least somewhat. |
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Jul 8 2007, 07:35 PM
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#13
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dripping destruction Group: Staff Alumni Posts: 7,282 Joined: Jun 2004 Member No: 21,929 |
rabbits are livestock.
shoot em and eat em. they're no different from cattle. BUNNIES are pets. not rabbits. |
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Jul 8 2007, 09:13 PM
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#14
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 Lauren :D Group: Member Posts: 2,105 Joined: Jul 2005 Member No: 176,997 |
QUOTE(brownsugar @ Jul 8 2007, 09:15 AM) Man, did some of you even read the thing? At first I was like.."ok, who cares.." but reading the whole article changed my mind. They still have some of those species in zoos around the world right? They are just extinct in Australia right? I don't know maybe they should release another kind of rabbit disease. 600million to 100million is a huge difference. Oh man, there'd be a lot of dead bunnies all over the place... |
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Jul 15 2007, 09:31 AM
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#15
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 cvchango Group: Human Posts: 492 Joined: Dec 2005 Member No: 332,717 |
introduce predators that prey on the rabbits, hopefully these predators only prey on rabbits
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Jul 22 2007, 01:43 AM
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#16
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 Want fries with that? Group: Member Posts: 692 Joined: Sep 2004 Member No: 50,652 |
QUOTE(31miracles @ Jul 15 2007, 09:31 AM) introduce predators that prey on the rabbits, hopefully these predators only prey on rabbits Are there any predators that prey on only rabbits? I think that the new predator would also add to their animal extinction problem. I guess killing them on sight would be the only answer to this problem. :T |
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