Introduced Species

SUMMATIVE HUMAN AWARENESS ESSAY Many species introduced to Australia have ultimately changed the ecology and biodiversity in many ways. One of the species significantly contributing to this change are the feral rabbits. Rabbits were first introduced to a small area in Victoria in 1859 for sport hunting. Only twenty-four rabbits were introduced but became successful in Australia because of a lack of natural predators able to keep populations under control. Native species have been unable to …

…and wildlife, then effective rabbit control needs to be in place. The strongest hope of control will be biotechnology and genetic engineering that specifically targets rabbits, such as the calicivirus, to control breeding rates and to reduce existing populations. Using such technology can reduce the rabbits' impact, meaning agriculture can face fewer threats and our endangered wildlife can reclaim the land that was once theirs. <Tab/><Tab/>