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11/04/2009 00:46:43

Australia-Rabbits costing farmer million of dollars.





AUSTRALIA-RABBITS COSTING FARMERS MILLIONS.
As the rest of the State rejoices in the sight of the sweet Easter bunny treats lining supermarket shelves, spare a thought for the impact rabbits have on Queensland landowners.
Rabbits are one of Australia’s major agricultural animal pests causing losses to industry estimated between $600 million and $1 billion annually.

With April to September being the prime breeding time for rabbits, Biosecurity Queensland is urging landholders to keep up with their control practices.

"At this time of year rabbits are looking for shelter so now is a good time to target warrens and breeding areas," Biosecurity Queensland officer Kevin Strong said.

"Destroying rabbits’ homes is the most effective method for long-term control and complements conventional control methods such as baiting and fumigating.

"To effectively destroy warrens they should be ripped to a depth of 70-90 cm.

"Other simple measures such as removing rubbish, burning log piles and keeping areas tidy will also help keep rabbit numbers down."

Mr Strong said landholders play a vital role in keeping this major environmental and agricultural pest in check.

"Landholders are responsible for taking action to eradicate rabbits on their property," he said.

"Biosecurity Queensland and local councils can provide information on the best control methods for landholders to use.

"Our monitoring and research is showing virus controls such as myxomatosis and calicivirus are still effective in suppressing rabbit populations but destroying warrens is the best long-term control solution.

"To further assist landholders, Biosecurity Queensland has developed a ’Guide for Land Managers’ which details all aspects about rabbits and how to control them."

The guide is available from the Primary Industries and Fisheries website.





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