The introduction and sale of rabbits in Queensland is illegal and penalties apply. A limited number of permits for domestic rabbits are available from Biosecurity Queensland for research, public exhibitions, magic acts and circuses. Before a permit is granted, the guidelines must be followed. In southern Europe, the scarcity of rabbits threatens the conservation of endangered predatory species that depend on small game, such as rabbits higher up the food chain. These include the Iberian lynx and the Iberian imperial eagle. For this reason, biological warfare against rabbits in Australia is a serious problem for conservation activities in other parts of the world. [42] European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were first introduced to Australia in the 18th century with the First Fleet and probably spread later by Thomas Austin. [1] These wild rabbit populations are a serious pest of mammals and invasive species in Australia, causing millions of dollars in crop damage. Their spread may have been increased by the advent of strong crosses.
While Easter bunnies – especially the chocolate variety – can be sweet and attractive, rabbits don`t always have such a good reputation in the real world, and for good reason. We all know that rabbits breed incredibly fast and in large numbers. Rabbits reproduce ridiculously fast. You can breed from the age of 3 months, and each litter usually contains 4-7 baby rabbits. To put things in perspective, a pair of rabbits can produce 30-40 rabbits per year! Originally from Europe, rabbits were brought to Australia by the First Fleet as food animals, with the first populations of wild rabbits recorded in the late 1820s. Subsequent releases of rabbits for sport hunting significantly increased the size of the wild rabbit population. In 1907, the rabbit-proof fence was built in Western Australia between Cape Keraudren and Esperance to control the spread of the rabbit population from the east to the pastoral areas of Western Australia. Since European rabbits can both jump very high and dig underground,[26] a completely intact fence that stretched for hundreds of kilometers and whose farmers or grazing herders did not leave the doors open to livestock or machinery was still unlikely. [Citation needed] For example, rabbit-proof fence number 1, which was erected in 1901, could not keep the rabbit population away from the protected area.
[27] Even after the failure of this large fence, small closure projects continued to be successful. [28] State law requires the humane disposal of rabbits found in Queensland, which Cooney says allows the animals to stay alive – although the typical procedure is to euthanize the animals. Rabbits were first introduced to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788. [3] They were raised as food animals, probably in cages. In the first decades, they do not seem to have been numerous, given that they were absent from the archaeological collections of ancient colonial food remains. Until 1827 in Tasmania, however, a newspaper article noted “. The common rabbit becomes so numerous throughout the colony that it wanders by the thousands on some large estates. We understand that there are no rabbits at all in the former colony,” that is, in New South Wales (NSW). [4] This clearly shows that at the beginning of the 19th century. A local explosion of the rabbit population was underway in Tasmania in the nineteenth century. At the same time, Cunningham remarked in New South Wales: “.
Rabbits are bred near houses, but we do not yet have wild ones in the pens … He also noted that the shrubby and sandy debris between Sydney and Botany Bay would be ideal for rabbit breeding. [5] Pens seem to mean prolonged stray rabbits rather than cages. The first of these, at least in Sydney, was the one built by Alexander Macleay at Elizabeth Bay House, “a reserve or a warren rabbit surrounded by a large stone wall and well supplied with this selection game”. [6] In the 1840s, rabbit breeding became even more common, with examples of rabbit theft from ordinary people`s homes appearing in court records and rabbits invading the diet of ordinary people. [Citation needed] It`s hard for a rabbit lover to think of the idea of these creatures as parasites – but it`s not the domesticated and unfocused rabbits that are the problem, it`s the wild rabbits. Housing requirements: Rabbits need a barn to live and need access to nature to be able to move around and capture sunlight! The barn should also be weatherproof to ensure that your rabbit is protected from the elements. (Why not try the Hoppy Hotel, The Wiggle Den or The Rabbit Den – perfect for your floppy-eared friend`s needs!) Although the rabbit is a notorious pest, it proved useful to many people during the depressions of the 1890s and 1930s and during the war. Catching rabbits helped farmers, ranchers and station workers by providing them with food and extra income, and in some cases it helped pay off farm debts. Rabbits were fed working dogs and cooked to be fed poultry. Later, frozen rabbit carcasses were traded and exported locally. The skins were also used in the fur trade and are still used in the felt hat industry. [12] A royal commission was convened in 1901 to investigate the situation.
Once the problem was understood, different control methods were tried to limit or reduce the rabbit population in Australia. These methods had limited success until the introduction of biological control methods in the second half of the 20th century. In fact, there is a large population of wild rabbits in the areas around Sydney and tweed Heads, which is the result of this thing. Rabbits released or escaped. In 1906 and 1907, Jean Danysz of the Institut Pasteur in Paris on Broughton Island, New South Wales, conducted experiments on a strain of Pasteurella bacteria he had developed, which turned out to be specific to rabbits but proved to be less than satisfactory control measures. Dr Danysz believed that Broughton Island was a poor choice of test site and that further experiments should be conducted on the mainland. Frank Tidswell, who was his main Australian collaborator, continued Danysz`s trials after his departure in 1907 and also began experiments with the Yalgogrin, Gundagai and Picton microbes (named after the stations where infected rabbits were found), but did not have the financial support from the federal government or the cooperation of the states concerned that would be necessary to prove: that the measure was safe and effective. The fact that these pathogens did not wipe out entire populations may have raised doubts about their effectiveness. [32] No authorization may be granted for the breeding of rabbits of any kind for private purposes. Rabbits are definitely NOT allowed as pets in QLD – they are the only state that completely bans keeping rabbits as pets. It is illegal to own a rabbit in the state of Queensland without a proper permit, as it is considered a risk to agriculture and native flora and fauna.
It`s hard not to fall in love with the fluffy and fluffy charm of adorable rabbits! However, before you hurry up and buy your flaccid friends, it is important to check if rabbits are allowed in your condition. Unfortunately, not all parts of Australia consider rabbits to be pets – rather, they consider them parasites that are not allowed to be kept. If you have a rabbit as a pet, you can hand it over to the RSPCA (all sites) or the Animal Welfare League, which is allowed to move illegally detained rabbits between states. Shooting rabbits is one of the most common control methods and can be successfully used to keep already weak populations at bay while providing food to humans or pets, although it is ineffective for large-scale eradication. In 1887, losses due to damage to rabbits forced the New South Wales government to offer a reward of £25,000 for “any method of success unknown in the colony for the effective extermination of rabbits.” [16] The Commission received 1456 proposals, including several biological control systems (see below), none of which were both safe and effective. [17] The current infestation appears to follow the release of 24 wild rabbits[8] for hunting by Thomas Austin in October 1859 on his property, Barwon Park, near Winchelsea, Victoria, and in 1866 the Geelong Advertiser reported that 50,000 had been killed by hunters. [9] While living in England, Austin was an avid hunter who regularly devoted his weekends to rabbit shooting. When Austin arrived in Australia, which had no native rabbit population, he asked his nephew William Austin in England to send him 12 gray rabbits, five hares, 72 partridges and a few sparrows so he could continue his hobby in Australia by creating a local population of the species.
At the time, he said, “The introduction of some rabbits could not do little harm and offer a touch of home in addition to a hunting spot.” [10] William couldn`t get enough gray rabbits to fulfill his uncle`s order, so he filled it by buying domestic rabbits. One theory explaining why the rabbits at Barwon Park adapted so well to Australia is that the hybrid rabbits resulting from the crossing of the two different species were much better adapted to Australian conditions. [11] Many other farms released their rabbits into the wild after Austin. [Citation needed] Oops – I bought a rabbit in QLD and didn`t know it was illegal! What must I do? In fact, the only permits available to keep rabbits in the state of Queensland are for those who seek them out for public entertainment purposes (such as a circus) or for scientific and research purposes.