The Problem That Never Quite Goes Away
Rabbits are the pest that hides in plain sight. A few in the paddock look harmless, so control gets put off, and by the time the damage is obvious the warrens have spread, the pasture has thinned to weeds, and the fix has become a much bigger job. More than 160 years after they were introduced, the European rabbit is still the single most costly vertebrate pest to Australian farmers, at an estimated $197 million a year according to ABARES, a figure advocacy groups now round up to more than $200 million. There are an estimated 200 million-plus rabbits across the country.
The reason rabbits are so hard to shake is biology. A single doe can produce four to seven litters a year, young rabbits breed at three to four months, and in good conditions numbers can double every three months. Control anything but the warrens and the population simply rebuilds from the survivors.
Why 2026 Is Different: The Virus Pipeline Has Run Dry
For seventy years, Australia has leaned on biological control to keep rabbits down. Myxomatosis, released in 1950, knocked out more than 90 percent of infected rabbits at first. Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus, the calicivirus, followed: RHDV1 in 1996, a second strain (RHDV2) that arrived uninvited around 2015 and cut numbers by roughly 60 percent, and the RHDV1-K5 strain released in 2017.
Here is the catch. Rabbits develop genetic resistance, and CSIRO’s Dr Tanja Strive puts it plainly: “Biocontrol works incredibly well, and then it slowly loses its edge.” Each virus wanes after about 10 to 15 years, and the RHDV2 knockdown is now a decade old. A new agent needs to be ready roughly every 10 to 15 years to stay ahead, but the research pipeline stalled when funding dried up in 2022. In April 2025 the Invasive Species Council, the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, and Rabbit-Free Australia jointly warned of a looming rabbit plague and called for at least $15 million over five years. A next-generation virus is still around 8 to 10 years from paddocks, and CSIRO now says rabbit numbers can be expected to climb.
What this means for you is not panic, but priorities. Do not wait for the next virus to save you. When a crash does happen, from disease, drought, or your own baiting, that is the moment to lock the gain in with on-ground control. And on-ground control means, above all, destroying the warrens.
Why So Few Rabbits Do So Much Damage
It does not take many rabbits to hurt your country. The damage is cumulative and quiet until it is severe.
- Pasture and stock competition. Roughly 16 rabbits eat as much pasture as one dry sheep, and about 12 in higher-rainfall country, according to PestSmart. During dry spells rabbits graze pasture to bare soil long before stock would, taking feed straight out of your operation.
- Native vegetation. CSIRO research shows that fewer than one rabbit per hectare can prevent the regeneration of many palatable native trees and shrubs. Rabbits are listed as a key threatening process for 322 nationally threatened species. If you are running a revegetation or stewardship project, rabbits can quietly undo it.
- Soil and erosion. Grazing strips ground cover and warren digging loosens soil, which drives erosion on slopes, creek banks, and lighter country. In parts of western NSW rabbit damage has caused lasting land degradation.
- Crops and young trees. Rabbits graze germinating crops and ring-bark and browse seedlings, with the worst damage near timber, creek lines, and rocky outcrops where warrens sit.
The Methods at a Glance
No single method gives lasting control. Here is how the tools compare and where each fits.
| Method | Role | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren ripping | The cornerstone | Lasting: rabbits rarely re-dig; destroys breeding habitat | Needs machinery and dry, friable soil; access constraints |
| Harbour destruction | Essential companion | Removes surface shelter where rabbits cannot dig | Labour; ongoing as new harbour appears |
| Baiting (1080, Pindone) | Knock numbers down first | Fast, broadscale reduction; up to about 95% with free-feeding | Toxic to dogs; accreditation for 1080; does not touch warrens |
| Fumigation | Warrens that cannot be ripped | Kills rabbits in the warren; good for awkward sites | Labour-intensive; best when numbers already low |
| Biocontrol (RHDV, myxo) | Landscape knockdown | Suppresses at scale when it hits | Waning, cyclical, not landholder-deployed alone |
| Ground shooting | Mop-up only | Removes last survivors after the real work | Does not reduce populations; ignores warrens |
| Exclusion fencing | Protect high-value areas | Permanent protection of a defined area | Costly; does not reduce the population |
Warren Ripping: The Cornerstone
Warren destruction is the foundation of effective rabbit control, because it removes the breeding and shelter infrastructure that everything else depends on. PestSmart rates ripping as the most effective long-term method for a simple reason: rabbits do not readily dig fresh warrens, so once the network is destroyed, the country is far less likely to be recolonised, and the benefit lasts rather than needing to be repeated every year.
Ripping uses a dozer or excavator fitted with tynes to tear open and collapse the tunnel system. Best practice is to rip to about 700 to 900 millimetres deep and to extend at least 2 to 3 metres beyond the outermost entrance, because tunnels run further than the visible holes suggest, then cross-rip at right angles. Sandy soils rip best when dry, and heavier clay soils fracture better when slightly damp. A few days after ripping, walk the sites and look for fresh digging where survivors are trying to reopen a warren, and re-treat straight away. See our rabbit control service page for how we run ripping operations, and our property assessment page for how we map and measure warrens first.
Harbour Destruction
Not every rabbit lives in a warren. Where they cannot dig, rabbits shelter above ground in surface harbour: blackberry and weed thickets, log and timber piles, old machinery, rubbish, and fallen debris. Ripping the warrens without clearing this harbour just moves the survivors above ground. Removing harbour is the essential companion to ripping, and it also makes the property less attractive for rabbits to return to.
Baiting: 1080 and Pindone
Baiting is how you knock numbers down before ripping, so the ripping operation deals with fewer rabbits and works better. NSW registers two rabbit baits, both laid on oats or carrot.
- 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) is a single-dose, fast-acting poison and the most effective option for broadacre country. It has no antidote and is lethal to dogs and cats, so it is kept away from houses and dogs must be secured.
- Pindone is an anticoagulant that rabbits must feed on over several nights. It is less effective overall, but it has an antidote (vitamin K1) and is the safer choice near dwellings and hobby farms. It is sold over the counter, while 1080 is supplied only through Local Land Services to an accredited person.
The step that makes baiting work is free-feeding: laying untreated bait along the same trails on two or more occasions over about a week, so rabbits are confidently feeding before any poison goes down. Done properly, free-feeding then baiting can remove around 95 percent of the population. Because 1080 and Pindone are both dangerous to working dogs, read our guide on protecting working dogs during 1080 baiting first, and see understanding 1080 and PAPP baits for how the toxins work and the accreditation involved.
Fumigation
For warrens that cannot be ripped, under fences, near infrastructure, on rock or steep ground, fumigation kills the rabbits inside. In NSW the registered warren fumigant is phosphine, released from moistened aluminium phosphide tablets placed in the burrow entrances. Fumigation is labour-intensive and works best as a follow-up when numbers are already low and in moist, non-porous soil. It is a targeted supplement to ripping, not a whole-property answer on its own.
Shooting: A Mop-Up Tool Only
It is worth being honest about shooting, because it is the method people reach for first. Shooting does not control rabbit numbers. PestSmart states plainly that ground shooting is not an effective or efficient way to reduce or even maintain a rabbit population. Rabbits breed far faster than shooting can remove them, and it does nothing about the warrens. Where ground shooting earns its place is as a follow-up, mopping up the survivors after baiting and ripping and knocking over very small numbers. Used that way it protects the result of the real work.
Getting the Sequence and Timing Right
The methods only deliver lasting results in the right order and at the right time. The proven sequence is:
- Knock numbers down with baiting (free-feed, then 1080 or Pindone), or capitalise on a calicivirus or drought crash.
- Destroy the warrens by ripping, and fumigate the warrens that cannot be ripped.
- Clear the harbour so survivors have nowhere left to shelter.
- Mop up with follow-up shooting, then monitor for reopened warrens and fresh digging.
Time it for late summer to autumn, roughly February to May, when numbers are past their peak, few kittens are present, feed is declining so baits work, and the soil is dry enough to rip cleanly. Best of all, act straight after a crash, because ripping and harbour removal are most effective when numbers are already low. The annual pest control calendar shows where rabbits fit in the whole-property year.
Control Rabbits and Foxes Together
Rabbits are the main food source for foxes and feral cats, which creates a trap for the unwary. Crash the rabbits without also controlling foxes and those foxes can switch, in the short term, to other prey, including lambs and native animals. Over the longer term, fewer rabbits means the country supports fewer foxes and cats, so predator numbers fall as well. The way to get the benefit without the sting is to control rabbits and foxes together. If foxes are part of your picture, read how to control foxes on your property and plan the two as one programme.
How We Help
We assess your property, map the warrens and harbour, and design a rabbit programme in the right sequence for your country and soil: baiting to knock numbers down, ripping and fumigation to destroy the warrens, harbour removal, and follow-up shooting to mop up, then monitoring so you can see whether it held. Where warren ripping calls for machinery across several properties, we coordinate with your neighbours to share the mobilisation cost. See our rabbit control and baiting programmes pages, or get in touch for a property assessment and a plan that lasts.
Sources consulted: ABARES cost of established pest animals and weeds (2023, 2020-21 dollars); CSIRO biological control of rabbits and 2025 biocontrol update; Invasive Species Council and Centre for Invasive Species Solutions (rabbit biocontrol pipeline, 2025); Australian Geographic, “Return of the rabbit plague” (2026); PestSmart National Standard Operating Procedures (NATSOP-RAB001 1080, RAB003 Pindone, RAB004 fumigation, RAB005 warren ripping, RAB008 ground shooting, RAB009 RHDV1-K5); Agriculture Victoria integrated rabbit control; NSW Local Land Services Vertebrate Pesticide Induction Training.