Island rabbit cull bird deaths

FEWER than 30 of the 150,000 rabbits that once infested Macquarie Island are still alive after a joint state-federal eradication program.

A Senate estimates committee heard yesterday that a $30 million program of baiting, shooting and detector dogs had resulted in the almost complete eradication of rabbits from the World Heritage-listed sub-Antarctic island 1500km south of Hobart.

The rabbits and introduced rats and mice had a devastating effect on wildlife on the island by overgrazing native vegetation, which in turn affected nesting sites.

Their numbers boomed after a cat eradication program on the island.

Liberal senator Eric Abetz said the deaths of 2190 sea birds during the three-year program was a disaster.

"This is a complete debacle which just goes from bad to worse," he said after the hearing.

"The collateral damage seems worse than the problem the Government was seeking to eradicate."

Senator Abetz said the real number of deaths was much higher.

While 2190 bird carcasses had been discovered on Macquarie Island, more had probably died at sea.

Premier Lara Giddings said the rabbit eradication program was necessary to protect the island's bird life.

"Nobody wants to see wildlife hurt or damaged by programs. However, what is Eric Abetz's alternative?' she said.

"Those same birds, the same wildlife, were absolutely threatened by the destruction of the natural habitat on Macquarie Island because of rabbit grazing."

Environment Minister Tony Burke said the bird deaths were inevitable.

"When you do baiting, the fact is you will lose some of the birds you are wanting to protect," he said.

"But if you don't do baiting, feral animals like rabbits and rodents will keep wiping everything out."

Mr Burke said up to 24 bird species ultimately stood to benefit from the eradication program.

From here.

Educational Rabbit Toy Nominated for Design Award

Rabbit Ray looks like a cute white rabbit toy on the surface.  But student designer Esther Wang Chunshu of Singapore has created much more than just a toy; she has designed a useful tool for hospital staff to communicate with child patients.

Rabbit Ray has several functions. On the outside, the cute rabbit face comforts kids.  In fact, its aesthetic was the most popular choice in a survey of 50 children.  Further, because it is structured similar to a human body, kids can point to areas on the bunny that correspond to where it hurts on their own bodies.

The bunny toy opens up to show a diagram of organs in the body.  This is useful for explaining common illnesses to children.  The other side houses tools for common procedures like drawing blood.  Medical practitioners can use these instruments on the toy rabbit to demonstrate the procedure to the children so they will understand and become more comfortable with the process.

The invention has been nominated for the James Dyson Award, which is an international student design award.  The focus is for students to “design something that solves a problem.”

To learn more, see Rabbit Ray’s entry on the James Dyson Award website.

QUOTED FROM: MY HOUSE RABBIT blog.

Pygmy rabbits released back into wild

The Oregon Zoo will release a littler of Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits back into the wild.  The litter is a product of a pair of pygmy rabbits at the zoo.

The animals will be released to the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area in central Washington.  So far, 93 pygmy rabbits have been reintroduced into the area, including 39 babies from the Oregon zoo.

The animals became endangered in 2002. Experts say disease, inbreeding and loss of habitat wiped out much of the species.

To protect them from predators, encourage breeding and help them transition to their new surroundings, the rabbits are initially being kept in wire mesh enclosures in the wildlife area.

"We've taken extra steps to try to ensure that we don't lose these unique creatures. Every animal is important," said Kim Smith, Oregon Zoo director. "We're committed to conservation of many endangered species - large and small - and the fact is, these are the last Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits in existence."

The shy rabbits are dependent on sagebrush, which makes up the majority of their diet and grows in deep, loose soil in which the rabbits dig burrows. The rabbits have been edged out of their habitat as sagebrush steppe has been converted to agricultural land. Disease, wildfire and predation by raptors, coyotes and weasels also have contributed to the rabbit's decline.

Until this release, there were no Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits known to be left in the wild. Although there are other pygmy rabbits, including in Idaho, Oregon and Utah, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit has been separated from the other populations for thousands of years and is genetically distinct.

From here.

Ping Pong baby bunny prize

To The Winner Goes ... a Bunny?

COLUMBUS -- You can win almost anything at the Franklin County Fair if you have enough luck, skill or money. However, some aren't comfortable with one of the prizes available to win.

At one booth if you can make a ping-pong ball into a glass saucer you can win a live baby bunny. The owners say it's no different than going to a pet store and buying one.

But, the Capital Area Humane Society cautions against making a life long commitment to a pet with the toss of a ping-pong ball.

See video from the source here.

Big rabbit kill, but warnings remain

The rabbit-killing virus RHD has this year in Otago taken its biggest toll on the animal in at least five years.

Its effectiveness during the past summer has puzzled the industry because the Otago Regional Council's two-yearly tests for the disease's presence in Otago show high levels of immunity to the virus.

Test results show the average immunity across the 10 sites was 68%, similar to 2009 levels, council regional services technical field adviser Don Robson says in a report to be presented to its regulatory committee tomorrow.

"Interpreting this year's serum results has been difficult, with most monitoring sites showing high immunity levels, yet the virus has been the most effective and widespread for many years."

The virus displayed its greatest activity in the Alexandra basin, Ida Valley, Upper Clutha and Strath Taieri.

"In fact, most of Otago appears to have received the benefits of good kills from the virus."

As well as good death rates, observations showed deaths due to the virus continued to occur longer than normal, which meant the antibodies were still present during testing - unlike in other years.

"This observation clearly indicates high immunity levels do not necessarily mean the virus is no longer effective.""Exceptional" conditions in Central Otago had seen grass growth throughout most of summer because of frequent rain, which meant more young rabbits survived, he said. It also meant more flies, which were thought to be an important vector of the virus.

Full article here.

Bunny killer fights jail term

  A BALLARAT teenager who strangled a pet rabbit in front of at least 11 terrified witnesses in broad daylight was yesterday sentenced to a year in jail, after a magistrate rejected his claim he had performed a mercy killing.
But father-of-one Tai Sharp, 18, walked free from Ballarat Magistrates Court on bail after lodging an appeal against the severity of the sentence.
The court heard that at the Little Bridge Street bus stop on the afternoon of November 3 last year, Sharp took the rabbit from a teenage female friend, stomped on its head, wrung its neck and pelted it twice against the bus stop window, before shouting, “I can kill the f***ing rabbit” and “how do you like that, I can do it again” and throwing the dead pet to the ground.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Bob Anderson said at least three children – the youngest six years old – witnessed the killing.
Sharp pleaded guilty to charges of public nuisance,
dishonestly undertaking in the retention of stolen goods and theft.
Sergeant Anderson called on magistrate Michelle Hodgson to jail him, a suggestion that drew gasps from Sharp’s many supporters seated in the body of the court.
“Your honour, this is a despicable act, it takes place in a busy Ballarat street on a weekday afternoon,” Sergeant Anderson said.
“The court needs to send a strong message of its abhorrence of this behaviour. People cannot commit these type of offences.”

Read the full article here.

Wildlife refuge no more for pests

Helicopters have worked through sub-Antarctic winter weather to twice saturate the 13,000-hectare wildlife refuge with poison baits targeted at rabbits, rats and mice. Now dogs are mopping up remnants.

The $25 million federal-state project had to overcome setbacks including abandonment of its first round of bait-laying flights last winter, and the unintended poisoning of hundreds of seabirds. Now rewards are flowing as grasses and other flora sprout through the cold.

Read more here.