Central Coast rabbit owners are being urged to vaccinate domestic rabbits ahead of the roll out of a feral rabbit baiting program in the region on March 18.
Led by Greater Sydney Local Land Services, with the support of major landholders, local councils and environmental agencies, the program will see the release of the Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus, known as RHDV1-K5.
The virus will be released in suburbs including Umina, Green Point, Copacabana, Blue Bay, Foutaindale, North Head and Wyrrabalong National Park, along with the Central Coast wetlands.
Greater Sydney Biosecurity Officer, Gareth Cleal, said the program adopted an integrated approach to the reduction and management of feral rabbits in known problem areas throughout the region.
“This is the fourth release after the initial national program roll out in March, 2017, which has led to a 47 per cent reduction in feral rabbit numbers across NSW,” Cleal said.
“This follow up program ensures that we can target new areas and support more landholders and local governments to reduce the impact of these pests.”
Cleal said it was important that domestic rabbit owners went to their local vets to have their pets vaccinated prior to the release.
“The virus is spread mainly by contact between rabbits or via insects such as mosquitos and flies,” he said.
“Importantly, RHDV is only effective in rabbits, and if pets are vaccinated, they become immune.
“This program is designed to complement ongoing control efforts on private and public land.”
Feral rabbits are a declared pest in NSW due to the significant amount of agricultural and environmental damage they cause.
They are believed to have contributed to the decline or extinction of a number of NSW native species including the greater bilby and the yellow footed rock-wallaby and their overgrazing is estimated to cost Australian agriculture more than $200M every year.
Source:
Media release, Feb 24
Greater Sydney Local Land Services