Rabbit threat in Britain
By
KEN COATES
in London As New Zealand prepares to licence domestic rabbit farming, feral rabbits are multiplying so fast in many parts of Britain that they have become a severe threat to farming. It is believed that, after 20 years of myxomatosis, “super rabbits” are developing an immunity to the disease: in some areas Government scientists are working on new methods of killing rabbits. Farmers have been warned of the danger by the Ministry of Agriculture, which has said that the rabbit is again becoming a
significant pest—eating its way each year through produce valued at S2OOM. Rabbit numbers are still below pre-myxomatosis days, but a Ministry spokesman said that there was evidence of much wider distribution. Infestation is serious in the south-east, around London, in Humberside, and parts of Wales. Winter cereals have suffered serious losses. Farmers in Britain are responsible, under local authority supervision, for controlling the size of rabbit populations on their land. However, the problem is now too big for many of them to handle.
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Press, 23 April 1979, Page 2
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174Rabbit threat in Britain Press, 23 April 1979, Page 2
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