Rabbits& How Some Tried to Get Rid Of Them.

In earlier blogs I have mentioned how rabbits were originally introduced into Australia and quickly spread and became pests, like many other introduced plants and animals. Unlike most of the others, which I can only talk about third or forth-hand, rabbits are one pest that I have had first hand experience in dealing with.

On the small farm on the outskirts of Melbourne where I grew up, rabbits have always been a problem. Over the years many methods have been tried to control them. These have varied between Traps, dogs, ferrets, shooting and poison. Others have even tried fumigating the burrows. However here I will reminisce on the time, 3 or 4 of our neighbours and dad used
1080 Poison.

Back in the late 1950’s the rabbits were so bad in our area that some of the neighbours banded together to put out poison baits. This was a time and energy-consuming task, as a furrow was ploughed around the properties where the baits were going to be laid. Then the livestock was removed from those paddocks and some carrots purchased and chopped up by hand. These were then scattered along the ploughed furrows to encourage the rabbits to come along and get the taste for them. Then a few days later when they were eaten, the poison laced carrots were spread out. Us kids were involved with the chopping and spreading of the first lot of carrots, but were not allowed near the next lot!

A few days later after the laced carrots had been distributed and eaten, the furrow was ploughed back in. Just in case there were some poisoned carrots not eaten and also to fill in the furrow. Then came the job of going around with the tractor and trailer and picking up the dead bodies.

At this distance I can’t remember the exact amount. Somewhere between 130 and 150 I think, plus a fox and a Sparrow hawk. At the time it was considered a good result although no one was happy about the Sparrow Hawk! The fox? Well he was an added bonus.

Looking back one has to say that although it reduced the numbers, it still didn’t stop the problem and Ferreting and later shooting became favourite pastimes as well as necessary to simply control the numbers. No real effect was made on rabbit numbers until Myxomatosis took hold in the late 60’s and 70’s. But eventually even Myxo lost its toxicity and the rabbit population at home has gone back to what it used to be, especially as ferreting and shooting have long gone by the board.

Thinking about the rabbit situation at home and some of the problems in our lives I see some similar situations. If we don’t eradicate our problems early enough, eventually we will have to take severe measures like 1080 poison. This poison will do some noticeable damage to the problem area but it can also destroy some desirable things too, like the Sparrow Hawk. Also this drastic solution will not stop the problem completely and you will always have to work at the problem, like we did with ferrets, dogs & shooting. However even these methods will have to be maintained, for once they stop, the problem re-emerges once again.

So in closing I ask, “What are the “Rabbits” in your life and what steps do you need to take, to control them?” Walter