00:00Small, fluffy and completely feral, there was a time when Australia was overrun with rabbits.
00:08For the past 70 years their numbers have been successfully managed using biocontrols.
00:13Urban areas like Canberra are relying more on physical methods like removing and fumigating burrows and thermal assisted shooting.
00:21What we'd want to see is more biocontrol in the pipeline.
00:25That's what really makes a difference. The physical control is a never-ending battle.
00:30We've actually got a lot of resources put towards rabbit control and there's still a lot of areas we can't get to.
00:36Researchers say a new biocontrol will need to be developed to stay on top of the problem.
00:41Ideally we would do this before rabbit numbers are reaching plague proportions again.
00:45Because it's not about killing lots of rabbits, it's about keeping rabbit numbers low.
00:49But securing ongoing funding is a challenge.
00:52Biocontrol may have become a victim of its own success because numbers have been at historic lows for 10 years.
00:58It's a bit maybe out of sight, out of mind.
01:02Controlling rabbits costs Australia almost $200 million each year.
01:07In the ACT alone, half a million dollars is spent keeping a lid on the population.
01:12We really have to prevent that from happening.
01:14It doesn't take much for rabbits, because they breed like rabbits, to get away again.
01:20Rabbit numbers are on the rise all over Canberra.
01:24Areas that are difficult to treat, or where the rabbits are resistant to the biocontrol measures,
01:29become hotspots where they breed and multiply.
01:32What we're seeing is what happens when we have enough food and favourable seasons for rabbits.
01:41Rabbits may appear harmless, but in high densities can have a devastating impact on agriculture and the environment.
01:48Competing with native animals and plants, but also feeding feral cats and foxes.
01:54If you do have to prioritise your biodiversity dollars, rabbits are a really good target.
01:58Because by targeting rabbits you will achieve a lot of really positive impacts in all directions.
02:05SIRO is also researching other forms of biocontrol, known as gene drives, but those are still decades away.
02:11We're working on the long-term stuff, but in the meantime we need a virus or two.
02:17Light at the end of the burrow.
02:19E-mail us is a lot to trust in the 2011 European Ocean.
02:35A lot of these are self-civикаists that are interested in helping prepare us.
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