"BREEDING LIKE RABBITS"



Control Of The Rabbit In Australia




Submission

Project

Review

Media




Submission



INTRODUCTION


The Biological Control Of The Rabbit in Australia web site aims to provides scientific, historic and cultural information about the rabbit, its environmental impact and its control. The site focuses on the biological control technique of myxomatosis and on current research into Immunocontraception and the Rabbit Calicivirus Disease. Associated eithics such as Animal rights, genetic manipulation and releasing new viruses into the wild are also discussed.

The site aims to reach a variety of interests groups including scientist such as ecologists, biologists, virologists and students studying in the above fields, as well as those involved in the practical side of land managment eg land managers and farmers.

The initial project was called, "The Rabbit in Australia" and the focus was on six major aspects of the rabbit. To be more specific, the emphasis was changed to rabbit control and the site was renamed " Biological Control of the Rabbit in Australia.

The Internet currently only provides information on rabbits as pets and many of these sites are digitised shrines to a favourite pet. "Biological Control of the Rabbit in Australia" is the first site (that I could find) that has attempted to give a scientific perspective on the control of rabbits and hence fills a vacant niche in the web.

WHY THE WEB?


Information concerning rabbits is available globally in other mediums, but being on the Net allows a paper to be accessed from any computer linked to the web and, as the Net is increasingly being used as a research tool, it is a relevant medium to publish work in. The real benefit is that information is available at the tip of the fingers and is only moments away in cyberspace. The only research required is the time spent cruising the net, in short, it makes a paper quickly and easily available. A paper on the net potentially has a wider audience than other media, as there are now over 350,000,000 users of the Net. An advantage of publishing electronically on the Net is that one can create hot links between documents that lead users on to other relevant information. Additionally the technology allows users to find information in an interactive and interative way, an article on the Net as well as being searched for, may be stumbled across, giving people access to information which they may not have otherwise look at.

FORMAT

Formatting information so it is accessible and easy to browse is initially a challenge. As it cannot be assumed that the browser has read one section before another or is interested in any other section, each section and subsection need to be written indentant of each other.

ÒBiological Control of the Rabbit in AustraliaÓ site has a Home Page which displays four major sections, these are: History, Traditional Contol Methods, Biological Control and Culture. These four sections will be Hotlinked to each other either at the end of the text or in relevent text. The Web site is hierarchically structured and text within the sections will be available by either scrolling or by hotlinks. Highlighted words or icons will be hot linked to a subsections or a graphics display.

Sixty graphic images will be distributed between the major sections where it is felt they will add relevance to the text. The majority of the graphic images will be hot linked to save time and increase the fluidity of browsing. Images of significance will be displayed in the text.

SECTIONS

The reason for the choice of each major section, its' relevance to the title and the proposed structure is briefly discussed below.

History:

Subsections:

The geographic spread of the rabbit, societies attitudes and early control methods will be discussed in this site. Hot linked and displayed will be a variety of historical photos taken at the peak of the plauge and maps to show the spread of rabbits over time.

"Since the introduction of rabbits in 1879 to the state of Victoria, the rabbit proliferated into plague proportions and was a significant rural cultural factor before the introduction of Myxomatosis..."

The history of the rabbit in Australia is fascinating reading and it is essential to read to understand the current methods of control and legislation. By understanding and reflecting upon history, it is hoped that we can learn from past mistakes.

Also discussed in this section is the impact of the rabbit on society and on the land prior to the release of Myxomatosis. There was significant wealth created by the rabbit for those who culled, skinned and sold pelts and meat, however the wealth destroyed by the rabbit was immense. It is extremely difficult to quantify the ecological and economic damage caused by the rabbit, yet estimates begin at $90 million in lost production per year. Many native fauna species were in direct competition with, and many were displaced by the rabbit, others were killed along with rabbitsd as part of the lucritive pelt trade.

Other graphics hot linked and displayed will be examples of land degradation caused by the rabbit and images of extinct or endangered species linked to the rabbit. There will be hot links to other relevant sites or data ie :Biodiversity , Greater Bilby, Endangered Animals and Introduced Rabbits in Australia.

Traditional Rabbit Control:

Subsections

The control of the rabbit has become increasingly sophisticated over the decades. In the late 19 century the control techniques were to shoot and Poison the rabbit and destroy rabbit habitat. This early control of the rabbit, and the attitudes of Australians at the time, had a severe impact on the native population of Australian mammals and bird life, and little impact on the rabbit.

Although these techniques initially had little effect, more effective versions were introduced after world war two. In the fifties, a biological control known as myxomatosis was introduced with initial highly successful results. Today, over a century after the introduction of the wild rabbit, the latest control method currently being researched is a genetic manipulation of the myxoma virus which renders the infected rabbit infertile.(as discussed in section 3)

Graphics will be accessible to illustrate various techniques of control in the field and other relevant graphical information will be available.

Biological Control:

Subsections

This Web site will consider the success of myxomatosis and the potential for the release of the Rabbit Calicivirus disease. The potential success and associated ethics of Immunosterilisation are the main focus of this site.

The myxoma virus, a biological control agent, was introduced in the fifties with initial highly successful results. Since the introduction of myxoma virus, the impact on rabbit populations has lessened. This is due to new field strains and genetically developed resistance.

The latest biological control method currently being researched is Immunosterilisation. It is an attempt to genetically modify the myxoma virus to cause infertility in the infected rabbit. This is a new approach to rabbit control in two ways- one is that it uses genetic engineering, and the other is that, contrary to all other methods of rabbit control, it affects the birth rate rather than the death rate.

This CSIRO research project has many ethical considerations as the goal is the release of a genetically manipulated virus into the wild. Animal Rights and ethical considerations are examined, as is the role of genetic manipulation advisory council, GMAC.

Hot links to images will be available throughout the text, as will other links such as: CSIRO, CRC, Animal Rights, GMAC.

CULTURE:

Subsections

Society has used images of the rabbit in many ways, from a good luck symbol to marketing items on the supermarket shelf. Indeed, many of us as children had a pet rabbit or a toy rabbit to play with, and undoubtably, we all went through childhood accompanied by Bugs Bunny and friends.

This site may seem an unlikely addition, yet it was added to explore attitudes that can effect societies attitudes towards rabbit control. Domestic rabbit breeders are also obviously concerned with any research that may effect domestic rabbits as myxomatosis did and are a concern for any proposed biological control for the wild rabbit..

The main focus of the web site is the Easter Bunny's rival, the Easter Bilby. The bilby is featured as an alternate mascot for Australia's' season of hope and new life. The reasons why we are encouraged to reject the rabbit as an Easter symbol are explored.

Hot Linked to this site there will be many colourful images of our famous bunnies. Also hot linked will be the sites: The rabbit gallery, 3D bunny graphics and the Bilby.

CONCLUSION

Rabbits are economically and ecologically destructive and their control is an important issue in Australia. Although the numbers of rabbits destroyed per year may be high, it is the number of rabbits left that count, for as long as there is a breeding pair left alive, there will only be control, not eradication.

There can however be eradication at a local scale and all land holders are bound by law to take active steps to control the rabbit population on their respective properties. How well this is done, depends on several factors: How well the land holder is aware of their options of control, how aware they are of the most appropriate form of control and when is the best time to implement it, how much capital they can afford to spend -or lose and how much they are concerned.

"Biological Rabbit Control in Australia" is a site that looks at the impact that rabbits have, and continue to make on Australia. The site looks at the past and present control methods and questions the ethics of current research. Browsers may go to a specific issue/topic with ease eg: fumigation, or browse through the whole site in a logical progression with ease.

The site "Biological Rabbit Control in Australia" is multi disciplinary in approach, and hence there is the opportunity to create links with a variety of sites. The obvious link is are the existing sites on `Pets', other sites such as Vertebrate Pests, Erin ( environment research information network), Council Net and other environmental networks.

Hot Links

3 D Bunny graphics http:/www-graphics.stanford.edu/~beers/3d-painting/rotbunny.mpg Australia, a biological hot spot http://kaos.erin.gov.au/life/general-info/vegclear.html

Australian and New Zealand Council for Care of Animals in Research and Training http:/www.isnz.gov.nz/ANZCCART_brouchure.html

Biotechnology http:/www.inform.umd.eu:8080/EdRes/Topic/AfrEnv/Biotech/bibliographies/qbs

Bugs Bunny http:/tncnet.com/~jmcarthy/characters/bugs.html

Experimental Animal Regulation http:/hayato.med.osaka-u.ac.fp/index/guide/inform/regulation.html

Greater Bilby http:/kaos.erin.gov.au/life/end_vuln/animals/bilby.html

Institute of Lab Animal Science http:/www.unizh.ch/labtier.html

Introduced Rabbits in Australia http:/kaos.erin.gov.au/life/end-vuln/threats/wildanim.html

The Rabbit Gallery http://www.psg.los.mit.edu/~carl/paige/rabbit-pictures.html

BILIOGRAPHY

CSIRO Virtual Library http://www.psg/los.mit.edu/paige/rabbit- picitures.html

Greater Bilby http://kaos.erin.gov.au/life/end-vuln/animals/bilby.html

Coman,B.J. (1994) District Rabbit Control,

Rolls, E.C. (1986) They All Ran Wild Angus and Roberts, Sydney

Williams,K. et al. (1995) Managing Vertebrate Pests, Rabbits Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.


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