Scientists have launched a new offensive against rabbits, with plans to map the location and density of the pest across Australia. The Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre is asking ...

Englishman Thomas Austin hoped to make his block of Australian wilderness more like his homeland when he released 12 breeding pairs of rabbits onto his sprawling estate near Geelong. What he’d ...

Back in 1859, a mere 24 European breeding rabbits, scientific name Oryctolagus cuniculus, disembarked from England, brought over by Thomas Austin, who enjoyed hunting parties on his Victoria estate.

With their outsized ears and fluffy fur, rabbits are often seen as cute and harmless. Yet the creature is behind one of the globe's most harmful biological invasions, ravaging Australia, whose ...

A 2021 report from the CSIRO described European rabbits as the “single biggest menace to threatened native species” in Australia and cost, on average, $216 million a year in lost farm ...

It’s estimated somewhere around 200 million wild rabbits are hopping around Australia, and they’re causing a lot of damage. Their huge numbers and large appetites are hurting both the native ...

On Christmas Day 1859, the Victoria Acclimatisation Society released 24 rabbits for hunting, to help settlers feel more at home. ... (green, right) across Australia. Rabbit data from West 2008.

RABBIT PROOF FENCES. Thomas Austin was not the first to bring rabbits to Australia. Some had come with the First Fleet in 1788 and although a small number were released into the wild, rapid ...