Rabbits on the radar in the Bangham district

From Bryan Haywood:

Fumigating rabbit warrens is hard yacka but an essential part of land management – especially when they are in moderate to large numbers. These introduced ground-dwelling herbivores are a major pest in agricultural situations and also in native vegetation and revegetation areas.

Putting smoke into a burrow to find all the entrances

Over the coming months and next few years a large restoration effort is being undertaken by various projects in the Bangham district – including Landscape Links (through Natural Resources South East), RUEC and 20 Million Trees. These projects will help to address issues of habitat fragmentation, quality and connectivity, as well as reducing weed and vermin impacts and increasing community engagement in these activities.

Eaglehawk Waterhole is one of the properties on the priority list. Regular monthly working bees are set to continue the exploration of the property for all its good and bad points, to begin the restoration process and to allow members of the local community to be involved.

I popped up to help Craig Baulderstone (nearby landholder) back in February with his rabbit problem and he said “since the rabbits have been reduced, we’ve started seeing orchids and other wildflowers we never thought we had”. Hearing this kind of feedback makes it worth the effort in the long run to reduce their numbers where we can.

March-April is rabbit control period, and we have made a strong start on fumigation of warrens adjacent to current and future restoration sites, with invaluable assistance from Natural Resources South East Officer Josh Rosser.

Cassie Hlava (also from Natural Resources South East) and myself have started on a control program to reduce the impacts of rabbits on Eaglehawk Waterhole and adjoining private properties. So if you know a little about rabbit control and/or would like to learn more, please let us know.

Bryan Haywood, Senior Ecologist at Nature Glenelg Trust
0427 001 853
or email