Background:
The European Rabbit, or Oryctolagus Cuniculus, appears to be a peaceful, docile creature upon first glance, but they have had a detrimental effect on Australia's ecosystems.
This rabbit, originally from Europe (as suggested by the name), eats grasses, leaves, tree bark, buds, roots, grains, cabbage, vegetables, and lettuce, and is fed upon by cats, dogs, birds of prey, and owls.
For around 150 years now, these rabbits have been eating farmer's crops and breeding crazily. In fact, now the number of rabbits has grown so much that there is, on average, one rabbit per hectare of land. rabbits are known for being fast breeders (the female can produce between 18 and 30 offspring every year), and this, combined with the increased food availability from the farmers and their crops, encouraged the rabbit population to spread throughout Australia. Recently, these rabbit populations have spread to the Macquarie Island, where their numbers grew from less than 20,000 to 130,000 in only six years.
First arriving in Australia in 1788, the rabbits were initially enclosed and not allowed to explore the outer areas of their new environment. However, around the 1860s, 24 wild rabbits were intentionally released for hunting in Victoria. Aiming to create game to hunt, the early colonists in Australia who released the rabbits ended up creating too much game whose numbers began to spiral out of control after a couple of years.
By 1920, this number had grown to 10 billion, and the rabbits had already adapted to farmlands, deserts, grasslands, and wet coastal plains. This ability to live in so many different environments causes potential problems, mentioned below, for the animals and plants living in those environments.
The European Rabbit, or Oryctolagus Cuniculus, appears to be a peaceful, docile creature upon first glance, but they have had a detrimental effect on Australia's ecosystems.
This rabbit, originally from Europe (as suggested by the name), eats grasses, leaves, tree bark, buds, roots, grains, cabbage, vegetables, and lettuce, and is fed upon by cats, dogs, birds of prey, and owls.
For around 150 years now, these rabbits have been eating farmer's crops and breeding crazily. In fact, now the number of rabbits has grown so much that there is, on average, one rabbit per hectare of land. rabbits are known for being fast breeders (the female can produce between 18 and 30 offspring every year), and this, combined with the increased food availability from the farmers and their crops, encouraged the rabbit population to spread throughout Australia. Recently, these rabbit populations have spread to the Macquarie Island, where their numbers grew from less than 20,000 to 130,000 in only six years.
First arriving in Australia in 1788, the rabbits were initially enclosed and not allowed to explore the outer areas of their new environment. However, around the 1860s, 24 wild rabbits were intentionally released for hunting in Victoria. Aiming to create game to hunt, the early colonists in Australia who released the rabbits ended up creating too much game whose numbers began to spiral out of control after a couple of years.
By 1920, this number had grown to 10 billion, and the rabbits had already adapted to farmlands, deserts, grasslands, and wet coastal plains. This ability to live in so many different environments causes potential problems, mentioned below, for the animals and plants living in those environments.
Harmful Effects:
Everywhere the European Rabbit travels in Australia, it brings destruction to existing ecosystems. As they journey onward, the rabbit grazes the shrubs and grasses in its path, leaving little food left for the existing species. It also can invade these existing species' burrows, such as the burrows of the bilby and the burrowing bettong, while settling down in a new ecosystem. This overcrowding causes the depletion of existing species of animals, but also hurts the plants. The amount that the rabbits graze is so high that they prevent the plants from regenerating, which permanently cuts off the food supply for the animals and completely destroys the establish food web. Numerically, 150 endangered species, plants and animals included, living in Australia are further threatened by the rabbit's invasive tendencies. In addition, the cost of the rabbits is enormous. As the rabbits travel and eat farmers crops, those farmers must spend tens of millions of dollars to tend to those crops, and they further lose money when insufficient crops are produced. It is estimated that, in total, the rabbits have cost farmers 200 million dollars. |
Potential Future Dangers:
As seen over the last 150 years, the European Rabbit population spreads like wildfire, and it is imperative that that expansion is stopped. Already covering a large majority of the bottom of Australia, in the future the rabbit could continue to spread up to cover the entire continent. While it is currently threatening 150 endangered species, that number could rise drastically and prove fatal for other animal species and plants, including farmer's crops. The money needed to maintain the rabbit's diet while still producing enough crops for the country is growing as we speak, and will continue to do so until the rabbit population is decreased. |
Solutions:
In 1907, the West Australian government attempted to build three fences that sectioned off West Australia so that the rabbits coming from the East would not be able to spread any further. However, their attempts were in vain as some rabbits had already ventured onto the other side of the fence, and were busy setting up their homes in their new territory.
Also, biological controls have been used to try and get rid of the rabbits. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the government attempted to use viruses that would kill many rabbits and stop them spreading further. While initially effective, the rabbits eventually developed a resistance to these biological controls. According to Dr. Tanja Strive from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, "There will always be a coevolution between the virus and the host, so biological controls will never be enough on their own" (Zukerman 2). While the biological attempts are initially effective, they will not be enough to stop the rabbit population from spreading.
Over the next five years, the government and CSIRO will invest 10 million dollars into improving the existing virus and creating possible new agents to continue the rabbit eradication.
If all goes well and the rabbit population is destroyed, the country will earn a profit of 1.4 billion dollars over the next 15 years.
More Information:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/04/08/2538860.htm