The rabbit is found throughout most of NSW. They can adapt to a wide variety of habitats. In general, they avoid large, cultivated areas, forests, floodplains and black soil country.

Human habitation does not deter rabbits, and cause problems in urban areas around houses, gardens and other infrastructure. In rural areas they establish near farm building such as shearing or other storage sheds or shelters.

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Rabbits are herbivorous and eat a wide variety of plants including crops, roots, pastures, young trees and young vines. They prefer short, succulent plants. With an average body weight of 1.6 kg, a rabbit can consume up to one-third of its own weight daily, with the average daily intake 100 to 150g. Nine rabbits equates to one dry sheep equivalent.

Rabbits prefer short grassy areas either found naturally, as in semi-arid areas, or resulting from heavily grazed pastures. Warrens and/or harbour such as blackberries or fallen logs are often located nearby.

As part of their digestive process rabbits form two types of faecal pellets: soft and hard. The soft pellets, produced mainly during the day, are eaten directly from the anus. This is called coprophagy. The process is used to extract the remaining protein and moisture from food and allows a more complete digestion of the fibrous plant material. It also enables rabbits to survive with minimum free water. The hard pellets seen on the ground and at dung heaps are the result of the digestion process and are usually dropped during the normal grazing period.

Wild rabbits can breed at any time of the year provided there is short green feed with enough protein. The main breeding season is determined primarily by rainfall and the early growth of high protein plants and therefore varies throughout the State. In the south, breeding usually starts after autumn and finishes in late spring, whereas in other parts of the State breeding results from the increase in vegetation during spring.

The wild rabbit:

• does produce 4 – 5 kittens in their first litter which can increase to about 8 with subsequent litters

• gestation period is between 29 - 35 days

• does will generally mate again within an hour of giving birth

• does are capable of producing 7 – 8 litters in a year, which consequently means that 50 – 60 offspring can be born in a single breeding season

• males and females reach sexual maturity at 3- 4 months of age.

The young are usually born in nests of grass and belly fur, which may be in the warren complex or in a breeding stop (the breeding stop is a short single-entrance burrow less than 1 metre long and about 30 cm below ground).

Kittens are born blind and hairless. After the birth and first feeding, the doe leaves. She will visit the kittens 4–5 times each 24 hour period for feeding. Kitten’s eyes open after 7 –10 days and they are weaned and emerge from the warren at about 18 days. They leave the nest at 23 to 25 days old.

Wild rabbits prefer to live in areas with low vegetation, well drained deep sandy soils and where shelter like blackberries, scrubs or fallen logs are present. They construct large warrens up to 3 m deep and 45 m long. Warren provide protection and cover from predators and extreme temperature. In areas where there is lots of surface cover rabbits might live above ground.

When breeding occurs social groups with 1-3 males and 7 -10 females. There are high levels of aggression, strong territorial behaviour and the development of social hierarchies.

Communication is mainly by smell, but alarm signals are given by flashing the tail while running and by thumping with the hind feet.

Wild rabbits rarely survive more than 6 years. Kitten survival is low with up to 80% dying before they reach 3 months of age.

Predation can account for substantial losses of both healthy and starving rabbits. Foxes, wild dogs (including dingoes), cats and birds, prey on rabbits. Goannas and snakes may also prey on kittens.

Disease can have a significant impact on rabbit populations with myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) being the most lethal to wild rabbits.

Agricultural

Rabbits are agricultures most costly pest animal. They impact directly with livestock for pasture reducing productivity. They cause erosion by denuding vegetation which in turn can impact dam catchments, water supplies and maintaining topsoil.

High rabbit populations may also support foxes in the landscape that in turn could reduce lambing percentages.

Forestry and tree plantation can suffer extensive losses due to grazing rabbits.

Environmental

Australian native vegetation is very sensitive to rabbit damage.  As few as 0.5 rabbits per hectare can be enough to prevent the regeneration of a number of threatened or endangered plant species.

Rabbits damage native plants and compete with native wildlife for food and shelter

Competition and grazing by rabbit are listed as a Key Threatening Process (KTP) under the Threatened Special Conservation Act 1995.

It is best to bait outside of the breeding season this may vary in different areas of the state.

Effective free feeding prior to baiting is essential to enable successful control. Rabbits are generally wary of new feed types.

Carrots are the preferred feed material for rabbits, but oats and pellets may be used.

Do not dog, trap, shoot or otherwise disturb the rabbits in an area for several weeks before starting a baiting program.

Baiting rabbits with 1080 is a cost efficient and effective methods of controlling rabbits and is particularly useful for reducing large and medium populations.

1080 is a restricted chemical product and a relevant chemical qualification is required to use it. Private landholders can access 1080 bait products from a Local Land Services Authorised Control Officer.

Distance restriction applies when using 1080 bait product, so this method is not available in urban areas.

Pindone is an anticoagulant poison that requires at least three pindone feeds to control a high proportion of the rabbits. Pindone can be used in urban areas (on properties over 1000m²). An antidote is also available (Vitamin K) from a veterinarian should any off target accidental poisoning occur.

Pindone carrot bait is available from a Local Land Services Authorised Control Officer and a relevant chemical qualification is required to use it.

Pindone oat bait is available from rural merchant suppliers.

Warren ripping is very target specific and can be used during the rabbit breeding season. The aim of warren destruction is to destroy the structure of the warren and the rabbit within them.

Rabbits do not readily dig new warrens so destruction of warrens can greatly reduce the re-colonisation of treated areas.

Rabbits will live among surface shelter such as dense vegetation, fallen logs, farm refuse, old machinery and rock piles. Weeds such as blackberries, African boxthorn and lantana can also harbour rabbits.

Warren and above ground harbour destruction is the most important part of lasting rabbit control by removing the areas that rabbits depend on for survival.

Two diseases have been released in Australia to manage rabbit impacts.

Rabbit Haemorrhagic Virus (RHDV) a calicivirus specific to rabbits. RHDV spreads in rabbit by direct contact and through insect vectors.

The virus may be introduced to rabbits on carrot and oat feed, by treating several warrens then allowing the disease to spread. Contact your Local Land Services if considering using RHDV, to assess the suitability and availability of the virus

Myxomatosis outbreaks occur frequently, however the effects vary considerably. Rabbits that recover from an attack of myxomatosis are generally immune for life. Rabbits usually become infected after being bitten by an insect vector, typically mosquitos, but also European and Spanish rabbit fleas that have been introduced to Australia. While myxomatosis depresses rabbit numbers, the percentage killed is usually too low to achieve a significant reduction in their impacts.

Some rabbit populations have immunity to these diseases and can survive an outbreak. Both viruses can persist in rabbit populations but cannot be relied on to provide ongoing control. RHDV should not be introduced while myxomatosis is active in rabbits.

Soft-jawed traps and mesh barrel traps may be used to remove rabbits. Trapping should only be used to control the last few rabbits and should not be relied on to control medium to high density rabbit populations

Traps are normally set in the active openings in the warren, in the late evening. Once set, traps should be checked as soon as possible after dawn then deactivated, to minimise unnecessary suffering to captured animals and lessen the chance of capturing non-target animals during the day. Barrel traps are placed in the warren entrances and have a one way flap to capture animals that enter. All the entrances to a warren need to be treated at once, to make trapping effective.