This is not my idea. I was over on Hunt America and Marty kicked this off on their Aussie forum with Donkeys. So I thought I'd steal the idea and start it here (Sorry Marty ) As Marty said this would be a good way for Non Aussies to see what we have. A new species will be added in a week or so.

Feel free to add your pictures and stories.

So first up is....Rabbits.

This bloke was shot in the Lithgow area on a mates farm. Rifle is a stirling .22mag. The same farm also produces some good foxes. Interestly the rabbits on this place throw different colours in good years with black being common.


Some history,
The European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) came out to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788. The rabbit was introduced to Tasmania and the first feral populations were recorded in 1827 in south-eastern Tasmania.

Later, in 1859, Thomas Austin brought out 24 rabbits, 5 hares and 72 partridges and released them on his property, just outside of Geelong in Victoria, called ‘Barwon Park' on Christmas Day.

From ‘Barwon Park’, rabbits spread north and west, and in 1866 there was another release in Kapunda, South Australia. After that it took only 15 years to reach New South Wales, it reached the south-western border of Queensland in 1887, they were first sighted Northern Territory in 1894 at Charlotte Waters, and by the 1900’s there were feral populations in Western Australia. It seemed as if nothing would stop it, and not far behind the rabbit was the Fox. In 1890, the rabbit population in Australia reached plague numbers and something needed to be done.

In 1907 the longest anti-rabbit fence was finished. It was constructed by the Western Australian Government and it was 1 833 kilometres long. It was from Starvation Boat Harbour, in the south, and Cape Keraudren. One problem was that by the time that most rabbit-proof fences are finished, rabbits have already crossed into the area that the fence is trying to keep them out.

In the 1950’s a virus was introduced. It was called the Myxoma Virus and it caused the fatal Myxomatosis. The proposition of introducing the Myxoma Virus to Australia was put forward in 1918 by a Brazilian scientist called H. de Beaureparie Aragao. It was rejected because it “wouldn’t workâ€, but the rabbit populations kept getting worse. Finally, in the 1920’s, specially trained scientists of the Australian Government and the CSIRO had begun to assess the possibility of introducing the Myxoma Virus.

Trials were run in Britain, Denmark, Sweden, and southern Australia. These were unsuccessful, but the CSIRO was persistent in developing the virus. Finally they had developed a Virus that would be effective and only species-specific (only effected the specific species). The Myxoma Virus was released at 5 different field sites in the Murray River valley, southern New South Wales.

Eventually the virus lost it’s effect and the populations recovered, due to the survival of rabbits that had natural resistance to the virus. The CSIRO introduced the European rabbit flea in 1957 and again in 1966 to try and give the virus a kick-start again. It was once again a short answer. Finally in 1993 the Spanish rabbit flea was introduced in hoping to help the rabbit populations, but the fleas died out in the hot rangelands.

In 1995 a Calicivirus (RHD, RCD) was introduced and it dropped the populations down, but it came back up. At the moment the CSIRO is developing an immunocontraceptive to hopefully reduce the number.

Great idea.
A couple of my own live shots.

A bunny in NE Victoria doing its best to hide in the scrub while still being alert.


And a longer range shot of a ginger rabbit.



The usual color is the first grey type. Ginger and whiter ones tend to turn up in the drier flat country while lots of black ones turn up in the wetter hilly and heavily bushed country. Lots is still only 1 or 2% of the population.

We have quite a few methods of hunting the humble bunny.
I suppose the popular ones are walking around potting them with 22lr, jumping them from blackberry patches or scrub with a shotgun. We also snipe them from long range with all the usual varmint calibres from 17hmr up to the 375H&H. Spotlighting (lamping, jacklighting...) is also very popular. Running them with dogs has been done a lot in the past but is probably waning a bit these days.
Ferreting is also popular. The idea is simple, send a ferret down a burrow and catch the rabbits in nets over the entrances or shoot em with a shotty as they bolt for it.

Basically the rabbit has formed the beginning of many a hunting career. I know it was certainly the start for me.

Well done guys .
Not sure that too many of we shooters will be happy if the immunocontraceptive works . Have had some great rabbit shooting here in the last 6 months . More than I've seen since the introduction of RCD but not plagues by any means . .

Here's a blast from the past. A young 15 year old Bakes with the first animal I ever hunted. Taken on my wife's place in the 80's.

The rabbits the one on the ...left , right ?

I quite like hunting this sort of bunny too.

I find nitrox's bunny just a little more appealing.

Thanks for the pics and facts on rabbits.

Is profeesional rabbit hunting still going on? In the 90's I think shooters were getting about $1.00/pair?

I think that industry fell in a heap after the escape of the Calicivirus.

80's....Bakes had more hair in them days.LOL(don't worry,I'm not far behind)

One of the Rollins boys on "Pop's" farm.

Great pic Easy...but thats a bloody hare, next weeks profile

BS..that's Kilcoy rabbit,our hares are twice as big.I had to head shoot that bloke with the 38/55.

Now thats scary in itself - Easy has offspring...

And the poor kids looks like his dad