ON Saturday October 19 the Upper Plenty Merri Catchments Landcare Group (UPMCLG) hosted an information session on rabbit management in conjunction with Mitchell Shire Council.
Presented by Neil Deveny from the Victorian Rabbit Action Network, the information session equipped landowners and managers with the knowledge they needed to get started in reducing rabbit numbers in their communities.
The session was attended by around 30 interested locals at the Wandong Hall, with attendees coming from Clonbinane, Heathcote Junction, Kilmore, Pylong, Upper Plenty, Whittlesea and as far afield as Bairnsdale.
According to organisers it was interesting to note that attendees came from a variety of landholdings from properties within town boundaries to half acre blocks, six to 20 acre holdings and farming operations on a much larger scale.
Paul Gruigan of the UPMCLG said that regardless the size of property the issue was the same - rabbits.
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The presentation opened with Neil Deveny sharing some rabbit facts, with many people surprised at how much forage rabbits consume, displacing both agricultural production and native wildlife.
They don’t just fit into the landscape, they destroy it, was the message.
Neil explained what a successful species rabbits are, and that their principal weakness is not predation, poisoning, shooting or biological control, although these are important factors in maintaining lower populations.
The rabbit's principal weakness and the key to their control is to deny them a habitat, by removing cover that will encourage potential burrowing such as gorse and blackberry, and by ripping or imploding existing burrow complexes.
The Upper Plenty River and Merri Creek catchment areas are on the peri urban fringe, and Neil explained that we create habitat for rabbits on smaller acreage blocks with wood piles, shedding without mesh to prevent rabbits burrowing under, and other structures such as containers with dry soil underneath that rabbits love to burrow in.
The audience were interested to learn how effective multiple adjoining properties undertaking burrow complex removal in a coordinated manner can be from actual field examples.
Through a community approach rabbits can be brought under control and kept there.
The session included lunch and afternoon tea, and several breaks to network with other local land holders and managers and ended with a call to action to get engaged with your local Landcare group and start the work of engaging with your neighbours and other locals on what’s possible.
"Neil's sessions are always valuable, and we thank him again for his time and expertise in telling the story of what the rabbit problem is, and what and how it can be addressed," said Chris Cobern, Upper Merri Landcare Facilitator which oversees Landcare groups across the Mitchell Shire.
He commended the UPMCLG on their proactive approach to the issue.
Paul Gruigan said the group was pleased to facilitate such days, and secure informative and respected representatives to cover concerns brought to the group's attention by the local community.
"Nobody likes to euthanise any living creature, however rabbits are an introduced species causing extramental damage to our fragile environment, and are directly responsible for the extinction of over 300 native species here in Australia," said Paul.
"It is important to note that no matter how big or small each of us perceive a problem to to be, if we don't deal with the problem, it becomes a neighbour's problem and eventually the community as a whole."
It is a legal requirement for all landholders to remove rabbits, their habitat and weed species that provide cover to create burrows and warren networks.
