Thomas Austin thought it would be great to do some rabbit hunting.  Australia already had domesticated rabbits, but they weren’t fun to hunt.  The wealthy Australian had 24 wild European rabbits imported from the other side of the world.  In 1859, the bunnies were set free on his land.  Within 50 years rabbits had spread all over the whole continent.  This is the fastest recorded spread of a mammal in history.  The mates could have four litters a year with 2-5 kits (babies) in each litter.  The invasive species ate crops and vegetation.  This led to soil erosion.  Many things were tried.  Not surprisingly, hunting them was not effective in reducing the numbers.  Fences around farms. Hell, a fence that separated western Australia from the eastern half.  Fences did not work.  Rabbits were released with a virus that only killed rabbits, but the rabbits eventually developed an immunity.  There are now over 200 million rabbits in Australia.

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/how-european-rabbits-took-over-australia/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/world/australia-feral-rabbit-invasion-origins-intl-hnk/index.html


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