EDUCATION

The Effects of Introducing Rabbits into Australia

The Effects of Introducing Rabbits into Australia

Introduction

Rabbits are said to have provided most damage to Australian Ecology. They have some history as specie in Australia. Rabbits became a national nuisance after the period of 1859. Rabbits were brought into the Australian by early Europeans. Initially people were fond of rabbit hunting and they enjoyed it, and this was one of the main purposes they were brought into the territory of Australia. With the passage of time, the number of rabbits has increased and as of now they are major a headache for the people of Australia as they cause lot of damage and harm to the Australian Livestock.

Discussion

The economic impact has been most significant in the state of Victoria. The Victorian economy is most affected by these rabbits as per some estimation; the economic loss accounts almost $ 55 million (Pech et al, 1992, p.112). Some of the erosion problems that are common in Australia are also due to the adverse effect of the rabbits (Best & Kerr, 2000, p.48). They consume some of the native plants due to which the topmost layer of soil is disrupted and thus they are exposed to wind erosion and some other effects (Cooke, 2002, p.347). For instance, some plants are consumed by rabbits in the process of seedling due to which certain species die and there are no younger species to replace them thus they are completely diminished. Even when there is much lower population of rabbits in certain area, it can be seen that they feed on some of the critical species of the plants

One of the earliest efforts to control rabbits was initiated in 1930's. It was a virus named Myxomatosis was being used but they were not really that effective as ...