Five-year plan to tackle rabbit numbers

CITY of Greater Geelong councillor Jim Mason says rabbits are the greatest feral animal threat to the natural environment and all landowners, including the council, must take responsibility for rabbit control.

Cr Belinda Moloney, who identified she was vegan, and Cr Kylie Grzybek agreed that while killing animals was something they would not normally support, they joined their colleagues to unanimously adopt a five-year Rabbit Control Plan for Greater Geelong.

With an estimated 20 million rabbits degrading ecosystems in Victoria, the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 requires all landowners and land managers to take reasonable steps to prevent the spread of rabbits and, as far as possible, eradicate them.

A report on the council’s Rabbit Control Plan 2021-26 stated the city received “many queries” on how they are being controlled.

Most community inquiries involved requests for the city to do more rabbit control, but there are also varied and conflicting community views on what actions should be taken to control rabbits.

The council endorsed a draft Rabbit Control Plan for public comment on in June last year, starting a community engagement process which informed the final plan adopted last week.

The plan considers pest animal legislation and the city’s responsibilities as a land manager, its role to support the local rural community with land management, and industry best-practice information and advice sourced from experts including the Victorian Rabbit Action Network, the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions and Agriculture Victoria.

The views of the community, Landcare groups, the city’s Rural Peri-Urban Advisory Committee and stakeholders are also taken into consideration.

The plan describes the impacts that rabbits are having in the Greater Geelong region, identifies rabbit-prone locations, priority areas for control, outlines the council’s rabbit control commitments and the vision, goals and actions for the next five years.

It also sets out a methodology for effective rabbit control using an integrated approach and how the city will collaborate with stakeholders and the community to reduce rabbit impacts.

The Rabbit Control Plan can be viewed on the City of Greater Geelong’s website.