Calici carrots make easier work of rabbit control

The NSW Department of Primary Industries today welcomed the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority’s (APVMA) decision to register the use of Calici virus on carrots.

‘This is great news for the State’s farmers who, for the last nine years, have had to trap and inject rabbits with Calici virus, with assistance from their Rural Lands Protection Board,’ NSW DPI manager of vertebrate pests, Barry Kay, said.

‘Injecting rabbits and releasing them into the wild was difficult and time consuming.

‘This new technique of treating carrots with Calici virus has proven simple and successful.

‘The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) was crucial to bringing about this major step forward for rabbit control.

‘Staff from NSW DPI’s Vertebrate Pest Research Unit at Orange Agricultural Institute held a series of field trials using Calici virus on carrots to determine its effectiveness.

‘This method provides growers with access to correctly prepared baits that can be used to control larger numbers of rabbits.’

Mr Kay said the original release of Calici virus in 1996 in NSW has been followed by natural outbreaks of the virus, denting rabbit populations in some areas.

‘The new method will complement existing rabbit control techniques and should be used at times throughout the season when adult rabbits are exposed without young – before spring and in the later part of summer,’ Mr Kay said.

‘This minimises the opportunity for resistance to build up in rabbit populations.

‘The virus is not expected to eradicate rabbits, but will help minimise their impact on the environment.‘

Conventional control methods still remain important tools in rabbit management.

Mr Kay said the virus is safe to humans and poses no undue hazard to other species.

Media contact: Brett Fifield on 02 6391 3311 or 0427 029 511.