Feral rabbits a hazard

Editor:

I’m long overdue in writing you. I am a resident of Canmore and am getting pretty tired of the ‘poor little bunnies’ coverage that we have been seeing so much of on the news.

Feral rabbits are a serious problem and a threat to the natural environment. You have only to look at what’s happened in Australia to realize how dangerous it is to leave these animals uncontrolled. If people can raise the money to ‘save’ them, that’s wonderful, but if they can’t, then the rabbits need to be destroyed.

Here’s a link to the pertinent PDF on the Australian government website: www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/rabbit.pdf

Please take note of the map, which shows that feral rabbits have now spread over about three-quarters of the Australian continent, not just one town. In particular, I want to draw your attention to the impact these animals are having on the native ecosystem in Australia.

Feral rabbits compete with native wildlife, damage vegetation and degrade the land. They ring bark trees and shrubs and prevent regeneration by eating seeds and seedlings. Their impact often increases during drought and immediately after a fire, when food is scarce and they eat whatever they can.

Feral rabbits may have caused the extinction of several small (up to 5.5 kilograms) ground-dwelling mammals of Australia’s arid lands and have contributed to the decline in numbers of many native plants and animals.

In the Norfolk Island group, feral rabbits and goats reduced Philip Island to bedrock, leaving at least two plants locally extinct. Feral rabbits even threaten colonies of seabirds such as Gould’s petrel.

With this in mind, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Canmore is on the very doorstep of Canada’s flagship national park in Banff.

The feral rabbits have already been sighted outside the town limits and it is frightening to think what the long-term consequences could be if the rabbits spread into the national park.

I would like to see a bit more coverage of the very serious reasons why the Town of Canmore has taken the steps it has to deal with the issue. If the people who are so concerned about the welfare of the rabbits can raise the money and find the volunteer vets to deal with the situation, more power to them.

I’m the first to admit that the ‘bunnies’ are cute. However, we also have to realize that fewer than 10 ‘pet bunnies’ were released in south Canmore just 20 years ago, and there are now estimated to be at least 2,000, and possibly closer to 3,000, feral rabbits in Canmore. They are enticing predators such as coyotes and cougars into town, thus increasing the chances of adverse encounters with these native wild animals. They are destroying people’s yards and gardens, and creating what must be a health hazard by covering the town, including school playgrounds, in rabbit droppings.

I think that responsible reporting would include more coverage of this far more serious side of the Canmore feral rabbit issue. It was a nice ‘fluffy’ Christmas story that some of the rabbits will be saved, but let’s keep the bigger picture in mind, and remember that animal activists should be at least as concerned about our native animal species as they are about these non-native animals, as well as showing some concern for the native Canadian ecosystems that are potentially threatened by these feral animals.

Marjory Gibney,