2017-03-14
Rabbits have been a persistent problem in Australia for over 150 years. Now the Peel Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC) and Peel-Harvey Biosecurity Group have released a strain of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), called RHDV1 K5, to reduce the number of pests in the Murray region of New South Wales.
Feral rabbits have adapted to Australia's farmlands, grasslands, and plains causing havoc to the land. They over-consume cropland and cause soil erosion. The rabbits feed on seedlings of trees, and many of these trees are then never able to reproduce. They also move into existing burrows... more