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Virus-laced carrots failed to make a dent in rabbit numbers along a Blenheim river, prompting the council to revert back to more “traditional control methods”.
In May 2021, the Marlborough District Council released a strain of virus that caused rapid multiple organ failure in rabbits along sections of the Taylor River Reserve, and at neighbouring vineyard properties.
The RHDV1 K5 strain was considered one of the most humane methods of culling rabbit populations, and was not harmful to other animals.
At the time, the council said the area had a high number of wild rabbits and “conventional control methods”, such as shooting, were challenging to do in the area given it was open to the public.
The K5 drop zone included the floodway reserve from Purkiss St to about 3km south, opposite Turnbull Drive.
The council said at the time the virus was not the “total answer” for rabbit control, but anticipated it would supplement traditional pest control methods.
The council confirmed this week there had not been any more K5 releases. Instead, they had gone back to “traditional” methods.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
Rabbits at the Taylor River Reserve between Purkiss and Monro streets, in November 2023.
“A combination of using traditional control methods – pindone bait, fumigation and shooting – continues to be the most effective control methods for all rabbit infestations across the region,” a council spokesperson said.
“We know from our monitoring that these methods are working effectively.”
Yearly monitoring had been carried out across 10 kilometres of the Taylor River Reserve since 2021, when three night counts were done in the space of two months.
The monitoring showed numbers remained “fairly steady” shortly after the carrot drop in 2021 and into 2022, at around 170 rabbits. A count in June this year had the population around 140.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
It’s hard not to spot a rabbit along the Taylor River Reserve, but the council says the population has remained “steady”.
“Throughout this time rabbit numbers have remained fairly steady,” the spokesperson said.
“A co-ordinated approach is needed from all the local landowners to bring numbers down effectively.”
The spokesperson said the council’s parks team would continue to work with neighbouring landowners to control the population.
The rivers team would keep an eye on the Taylor River stopbanks, after the council in 2021 said the rabbits were causing extensive damage to the network and neighbouring vineyards.
The spokesperson said this was an ongoing issue that required monitoring.
Anthony Phelps
Rabbits have made burrows in stopbanks used for flood protection along the Taylor River Reserve.
“At this time of year, numbers spike during the prime breeding season; they then trend downwards as we go into autumn,” the spokesperson said.
“All landowners have an obligation to manage the rabbit population on their property to the required level across the region, as stated in the Regional Pest Management Plan.”
Council parks and open spaces manager Robin Dunn said in 2021 the K5 strain had been successfully used in New Zealand since 2018 and was an important tool in reducing the environmental and agricultural impacts of wild rabbits.
The virus was specific to rabbits and would not harm any other animals eating the bait or through any carcasses that pets might find, Dunn said.
But part of the Taylor River was closed temporarily for the drop.
Anthony Phelps/Stuff
“Traditional” methods will be used to control the population.
The council carried out two clean carrot drops before lacing them with the virus so that the rabbits would take to them.
“Pre-feeding” was said to train the rabbits to eat bait and allowed the amount of treated baits required for each site to be estimated, to ensure high bait uptake.
The council’s website said there had been “plague episodes” of rabbits spreading up the Wairau and Awatere valleys since the late 1890s.
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