Australia's rabbit Jakub Miškovský

problem Jakub Kohut

3.B

HOW TO EXTERMINATE
RABBITS
START OF THE PROBLEM
A man named Thomas Austin that came with the
the first fleet. He brought 24 rabbits with
him on his trip from europe, with the
intention to hunt them. Now, rabbits cause
more than 200 million pounds in damages on a
yearly basis.

24 RABBITS + 7 YEARS OF TIME

= 14000+ RABBITS!
SOLUTIONS PEOPLE TRIED TO SOLVE
"THE RABBIT PROBLEM" Graph of rabbits killed by different man-introduced substances

MASS HUNTS

EXPLOSIVES

IMPORTED FLEAS

BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

THE IMPACT OF THE RABBITS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

THE RABBITS DESTROY THE VEGETATION
AROUND THEM BY EATING IT, CAUSE
EROSION BY DIGGING THEIR TUNNELS AND
ALMOST SINGLE-HANDEDLY WIPED OUT
MANY SPECIES OF PLANTS, AND
DECREASING BIODIVERSITY IN THE
PROCESS. MANY
. EVEN NOW, THEY CAUSE HUNDREDS OF
MILLIONS IN CROPS DAMAGES TO FARMERS
EVERY YEAR.

END OF THE SERIOUS RABBIT THREAT

IN 1980, THE RABBITS WERE SPREAD OUT
ON MORE THAN 70 PERCENT OF
AUSTRALIA'S LANDMASS, AND THEIR
"REIGN OF TERROR" HAD TO BE STOPPED.
SCIENTISTS DEVELOPED SPECIAL RABBIT-
TARGETING VIRUSES, THAT WERE ABLE TO
KEEP THEIR POPULATION IN CHECK. NEW
VIRUSES HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED EVERY
FEW YEARS, BECAUSE RABBITS ARE VERY
ADAPTIBLE AND CAN QUICKLY DEVELOP A
RESISTANCES TO THEM.
Sources: Australianetwork (Director). (2020, February 13). 160 year battle against one of AUSTRALIA'S worst INVASIVES | meet THE Ferals Ep 6 | ABC Australia [Video file]. Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=778Da7NCF6s&ab_channel=ABCAustralia
National Geographic Society. (2019, December 16). How European rabbits took over Australia. Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/how-european-rabbits-took-over-australia/
Economic and environmental impacts of rabbits in Australia. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://pestsmart.org.au/toolkit-resource/economic-and-environmental-impacts-of-rabbits-in-australia
The invasion. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2021, from http://australian-rabbit-invasion.weebly.com/the-invasion.html