The only rabbit welcome in Queensland this April is the Easter Bunny.
That’s the reminder from Queensland’s peak representative body for agriculture, the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF), shining the light on the serious biosecurity risk rabbits pose to Queensland’s agriculture sector.
“Rabbits are one of Australia’s most serious pest animals as they destroy landscape and crops and are a primary cause of soil erosion by preventing regeneration of native vegetation,” QFF CEO Jo Sheppard said.
“Estimates suggest that rabbits cost our country approximately $200 million in damage to agriculture commodities and the environment. This isn’t helped by the fact that they are well suited to Australian conditions and breed in large amounts.”
Currently in Queensland, the rabbit is a restricted category 3, 4, 5 and 6 invasive animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014, meaning it is prohibited to move, keep, feed, give away, sell or release rabbits into the environment.
Female rabbits can have up to 5–6 litters in a good breeding season, producing an average of 3–4 kittens per litter and breeding can commence from four-months of age.
QFF represent a wide variety of plant based and intensive animal industries that have a significant investment and interest in strong biosecurity in Queensland.
“Managing endemic animal and plant pests is an ongoing threat and cost for producers in Queensland and one that they face daily. This is an added weight to producers across industries who must manage compliance and quarantine controls to ensure we as a state can continue to produce high quality food, fibre and foliage at home and for international markets,” Ms Sheppard said.
Rabbits are spread throughout Queensland, however higher populations are located in the Granite Belt and south-west, with moderate populations in the Maranoa, the southern Warrego and north Burnett, Atherton Tablelands, and the Darling Downs.
Queensland’s peak representative body for fruit, vegetable, and nut growers, Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers (QFVG) CEO Rachel Chambers said rabbits cause significant problems for horticultural producers throughout the state.
“Managing biosecurity risks and implementing measures to reduce these risks is not often talked about or considered when we think about food production,” Ms Chambers said.
“We have penned 2023 ‘the Year of Horticulture’ to not only celebrate horticulture and its vital contribution to Queensland households and our economy, but also to provide a platform to acknowledge and address challenges faced by our producers.
“Last week, we spent some time in Brisbane’s CBD and in the Scenic Rim celebrating the carrot and while this was a fun opportunity to highlight some interesting facts about this staple in most Australian homes, we also want to highlight impacts on growers who make this staple food item possible.
“We hope this will be a timely reminder to our growers to ensure they have best practice biosecurity systems and processes in place, but we also want to bring some awareness to consumers in Queensland around some of the challenges facing growers who help put food on our tables three time a day.”
Growers and landowners are encouraged to visit www.biosecurity.qld.gov.au or call Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 for more information.
A code of practice for the humane control of rabbits is also available here: https://pestsmart.org.au/toolkit-resource/code-of-practice-rabbits/
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Queensland Farmers’ Federation Media Contact:
Anna Jones, Corporate Partnerships and Communications Manager
E: partnerships@qff.org.au
P: 0481 395 623
Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers Media Contact:
Natalie Brady
E: nbrady@qfvg.com.au
P: 0406 387 381