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Federal investment kickstarts next generation of rabbit biocontrol research

The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Albanese Government’s investment in the future of rabbit biocontrol, saying the $2.6 million Commonwealth contribution towards a $4 million Phase 1 national partnership is an important first step towards protecting Australia’s native wildlife from one of the country’s most destructive invasive species, with further investment needed to complete the program.

Rabbits are one of the greatest causes of species decline in Australia, threatening 322 nationally listed species and causing more than $200 million in agricultural losses every year. But the viruses that have successfully suppressed rabbit populations for decades become less effective over time as rabbits evolve resistance.

‘Today’s announcement is an important commitment to the Australian science needed to continue one of Australia’s greatest environmental success stories,’ Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said.

‘There are an estimated 200 million rabbits across Australia right now, stripping landscapes bare, stopping native plants from regenerating, destroying habitat for wildlife and fuelling the decline of hundreds of threatened species.

‘We’re really pleased to see the Albanese Government invest $2.6 million towards the $4 million first phase of this work. We’ve been calling for investment to ensure Australia doesn’t lose one of its most effective invasive species management tools, and this funding gets that process underway.

‘The last rabbit biocontrol was released in 2017 and, as expected, rabbits are gradually developing resistance. We need to stay ahead of that curve, not wait until existing viruses stop working.

‘This is the first phase of a longer-term program, and we’ll continue advocating for the investment needed to complete the later stages and deliver the next generation of rabbit biocontrols.

‘Rabbit biocontrol is one of Australia’s greatest environmental success stories. It has saved countless native animals and plants while reducing costs for farmers and land managers.

‘Biocontrol isn’t the only answer, but it remains one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools we have. Combined with coordinated on-ground control, it gives nature the breathing space it needs to recover.

‘Nature can’t afford for this work to stall. Long-term funding certainty is now essential to ensure Australia can complete the pipeline and continue protecting native wildlife from one of our most destructive invasive species.’

Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004

Background:

  • Rabbits are one of Australia’s most destructive invasive species, threatening 322 nationally listed threatened species and causing more than $200 million in agricultural losses each year.
  • There are an estimated 200 million rabbits across Australia.
  • Rabbit biocontrol has been one of Australia’s greatest environmental success stories, significantly reducing rabbit populations since the 1950s and helping native wildlife recover.
  • The current rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) was released in 2017, but rabbits gradually develop resistance, making continued research essential.
  • Today’s announcement includes $2.6 million in Commonwealth funding towards a $4 million Phase 1 national partnership to identify potential new RHDV variants and prepare future regulatory approvals.
  • Subject to the success of Phase 1, further investment will be needed to progress virus development, vaccine development, risk assessment and release planning before any future biocontrol can be released.

Photo credit: Mick Williams.

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Opinion: The government will be judged on what it funded today – when it knew the rabbit problem was about to get worse

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    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]