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Why rabbits and not cats or foxes?

 

                                  The problem ? really?
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  • Rabbits compete with native flora and fauna for food and regeneration;
  • rabbits feed pest predators cats and foxes that also eat livestock and native fauna, and
  • warrens and destruction of plants -> erosion -> loss of indigenous plant and animal species and fodder for agriculture

 

The problem

The 2021 State of the Environment report (Australian government) notes that rabbits affect species and ecosystems by competing with native animals for food, through gazing and preventing regeneration of seedlings, and by supporting populations of pest predators such as feral cats, foxes and wild dogs.

  • The decline and extinction of many mammal species has been attributed to impacts caused by rabbits, particularly in the arid and semi-arid zones. They remain a risk to over 300 threatened plant and animal species.
  • Feral cats and foxes prey upon native species, causing heavy losses and putting the survival of species at risk. Cats are known to eat over half, and foxes 40%, of Australian land mammal species, and nearly half and 18% of all Australian bird species. Feral cats kill an estimated 2,414 million animals and foxes an estimated 567 million annually – mostly native species.
  • Feral cats and/or foxes have been a major factor in the extinction of 27 of the 34 native mammals, 2 of the 9 native birds, and all of the 3 native reptiles lost in the last 200 years, and are a continuing risk to many more.

Rabbits, feral cats and foxes have been described as an ‘unholy trinity’ (Moseby). Rabbits compete with native animals and degrade their habitat, and become food for feral cats and foxes – sustaining and growing their populations; resulting in increased predation of native animals. Rabbit control may cause some temporary shifts in prey for cats and foxes, but over time the net outcomes are usually positive as vegetation rebounds, predator populations decline, and there is a resurgence of ‘at risk’ fauna.

From Rabbit Free Austraia: https://rabbitfreeaustralia.org.au/blog/rabbit-feral-cat-fox-control-a-springboard-to-landscape-recovery/

Don’t underestimate rabbits: these powerful pests threaten more native wildlife than cats or foxes

In inland Australia, rabbits have taken a severe toll on native wildlife since they were introduced in 1859. They may be small, but today rabbits are a key threat to 322 species of Australia’s at-risk plants and animals — more than twice the number of species threatened by cats or foxes.

For example, research shows even just one rabbit in two hectares of land can solely destroy every regenerating sheoak seedling. Rabbits are also responsible for the historic declines of the iconic southern hairy-nosed wombat and red kangaroo.

Rabbits spread weeds and reduce the ability of soil to manage water.

Cats and foxes may turn from rabbits to native species in the immediate short-term. But, research has also shown fewer rabbits ultimately lead to declines in cat and fox numbers, as the cats and foxes are starved of their major food source.

From the Conversation, October 21, 2021
https://theconversation.com/dont-underestimate-rabbits-these-powerful-pests-threaten-more-native-wildlife-than-cats-or-foxes-168288