Rabbits are running riot in the Adelaide Hills, ravaging crops and damaging lawns in what some have called the highest numbers ever seen.
Mount Barker District Council operations manager Jamie Thornton said numbers of the introduced pest had increased “tenfold” this year.
“We have some sites where we could see 40 to 50 rabbits sitting on a lawn or in an area where, previously last year, we might have seen five or 10,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
He said lawns, vegetation and revegetation sites were getting damaged, and they were creating a public hazard with holes in the ground for their warrens.
The council had resorted to fencing to protect some plants, with numbers so high some rabbits were also “living in thick vegetation and areas like that”.
Rabbit numbers are spiking across South Australia, including in the Adelaide Hills. (Supplied: Landscape Hills and Fleurieu)
Brussels sprouts under attack
Scott Samwell, managing director at Eastbrook Farms, one of Australia’s largest producers of Brussels sprouts, said they were doing extra work out of hours to try and protect the crop from rabbits but it was an endless battle.
“When we first moved out here over 40 years ago, we never had any rabbits at all,” Mr Samwell, who is based in Mount Barker, said.
“There was none on our farm but now … they’re everywhere.”
What should be a neat row of kalettes were wiped out by rabbits on Scott Samwell’s farm. (Supplied: Scott Samwell)
He said they had lost thousands of plants and transplants to rabbits, which led to further problems with weeds — and associated snails and slugs when the rains eventually came — as weeds filled areas of the field where cover had been lost.
‘We’re doing rabbit proof fences. We run them down the sides of our field but they’re literally hundreds of metres long,” Mr Samwell said.
“It’s expensive and time consuming, plus it can get in the way of implements and other activities.
“We’re shooting, we’re baiting. All of that’s time in labour and out of hours, early morning and late at night.”
Mr Samwell wanted the state government to step up and do more because of the “sheer numbers and because it needed to be a whole region approach”.
Scott Samwell says they have installed hundreds of metres of rabbit-proof fencing. (Supplied: Scott Samwell )
“We’re doing what we can to control the rabbits on our properties, but the rabbits are coming across the road from other areas, which aren’t getting controlled,”
he said.
Baits distributed
SA Environment Minister Susan Close said it was the legal responsibility of landholders to control rabbits on their property, and Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu had several resources available to help them.
“They are currently distributing baited carrots to landholders via a series of distribution days, supporting land managers to control rabbits at landscape scale,” she said.
“While baiting is one method of control, other methods such as exclusion fencing, warren fumigation and destruction, and shelter removal, are equally encouraged by Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu.
“There are also a range of online materials including videos and fact sheets to help landholders reduce rabbits on their properties.
“A series of face-to-face rabbit control information sessions were also held recently to provide landholders with the most up-to-date information.”
Residents have told the ABC that biological controls seem to be losing their efficacy with rabbits, which are also being reported in high numbers at Nairne and Summertown.
Others have said some people are not using bait because they are worried pet dogs will eat it, with pindone-laced carrots also linked by some to a reduction in bandicoot numbers in the Adelaide Hills.
Ms Close said Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu was continually reviewing its processes to find improvements, including ways to minimise off-target bait uptake.
“This includes a mandatory online training module to be undertaken before purchasing baits,” she said.
“It’s important for landholders to consider native animals when distributing bait.
“Their recommended protocol in areas of known wildlife habitat requires bait to be placed in open areas, at least 100 metres from dense understorey.”
Council mayor David Leach said agriculture was one of the biggest industries in SA and the state government had a larger role to play, beyond its work through landscape boards, “just to get these numbers back to a more manageable state”.
“This is the worst it has been since I’ve been living up in the hills and I’ve been here for a very long time,”
he said.
