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Rabbits are the most serious mammalian pest in Australia, an invasive species being responsible for the extinction of about as many native animals as the fox, and causing millions of dollars worth of damage to agriculture each year. They were originally introduced with the First Fleet in 1788, but the major infestation appears to have been due to 24 wild rabbits released by Thomas Austin on his Southern Victorian property in 1859, for hunting purposes. Many other farms released their rabbits into the wild after Austin.
Austin probably had not been reading the Roman geographer Strabo, who gave the following account of feral rabbits introduced in the 2nd century BC into the Balearic Islands ("Gymnesiae"):
Rabbits are extremely prolific, and, in Australia, had no predators that could keep their numbers low. As a consequence, they spread rapidly across the southern parts of the continent.
Within ten years of the 1859 introduction, the original 24 rabbits had multiplied so fast that 2 million a year could be shot or trapped without having any noticeable effect on the population size. Rabbits reached the New South Wales border in 1870Events January 6 The inauguration of the Musikverein ( Vienna). January 10 John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil January 15 A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking. Fifteen years later they entered QueenslandQueensland State flag ( In detail) Coat of Arms ( In detail) Capital Brisbane Governor HE Ms Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie Area — Land — Marine — Total 1 730 648 km˛ 121 994 km˛ 1 852 642 km˛ Population (2002) Density 3 729 000 2. 15/km˛ Time zone U, and by 19001900 is the common year starting on Monday. see link for calendar) For the film, see 1900 (film). Events January January 1 Nigeria becomes British protectorate January 2 John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China. January 2 Chicag the rabbit was firmly established nationwide. It was the fastest spread ever recorded of any mammal anywhere in the world. Today rabbits are entrenched in the southern and central areas of the continent, with scattered populations in the northern deserts.
The effect on the ecology of Australia was devastating: One eighth of all mammalian species in Australia are now extinct (rabbits being the single most significant factor), and the loss of plant species will probably never be fully appreciated. Rabbits cause huge damage to the agricultural economy. They are also responsible for serious erosionErosion is the displacement of solids ( soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, or movement in response to gravity. Although the processes may be simultaneous, erosion is to be distinguished from weathering, which is the decompos problems, preventing native plant growth to the point of extinctionIn biology and ecology, extinction is the disappearance of a species or group of species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species. In species which reproduce sexually, extinction of a species, impacting biodiversityBiodiversity or biological diversity is a neologism and a portmanteau word, from bio and diversity. It is the diversity of and in living nature. Diversity, at its heart, implies the number of different kinds of objects, such as species. However, defining, and ruining gardens.
Nowadays, landholders are legally bound to control rabbits to reduce impact on the land and local life. They can attempt to control rabbits through death, fertility control or exclusion, but the only really significant checks in rabbit numbers have been biological. MyxomatosisMyxomatosis is a disease which infects only rabbits. It is caused by the myxoma virus. First observed in Uruguay in the early 1900s, it was deliberately introduced into Australia in an attempt to control rabbit infestation there—see rabbits in Australia. was released into the rabbit population in 1950Events January January 5 US Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the USA January 6 The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with, causing estimated rabbit population to drop from 600 million to 100 million. Genetic resistance in the remaining rabbits led to the population recovering to around 200-300 million by 1991. To combat this trend, CSIRO scientists released rabbit calicivirus in 1996. However, it was not as successful as myxomatosis: it was estimated to have been fatal to only 65% of infected rabbits, as opposed to 99% for myxomatosis. [1] Rabbit eradication campaigns have become a popular pastime in the country's rural areas.
The rabbits now have such a bad reputation in Australia that a recent campaign was launched to replace the Easter Bunny with the Easter Bilby (a type of native marsupial).
Meat rabbit farming, also called cuniculture, is a minor industry in Australia. It provides income diversification for some farmers. Annual revenue has been estimated at $AUD 5.5 million (1990/91). [2]
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