Feral rabbit plague threatens Western Australia golf course and farms

Plague proportions of feral rabbits invading one of Western Australia's premier golf courses are highlighting widening gaps in Australia's feral animal control measures.

Albany Golf Course, about 450 kilometres south of Perth, is home to the state's oldest golf club and was last year named one of the top 100 golf courses in the country.

The rolling coastal greens attract golfers from across the state, but in recent years, increasing numbers of rabbits have posed a threat to the course's legacy.

General manager Dan Northcott said the damage caused by rabbits was highly visible and repairs were costing him hours in staff time.

"They've doubled, if not tripled, over the last two years."

City of Albany reserves manager Jacqui Freeman said calicivirus and myxomatosis were being used to control rabbits across the city in areas where they were causing environmental or amenity damage.

But Mr Northcott said those controls were losing their effectiveness, forcing him to explore alternatives, including shooting.

Albany gun retailer Cooper Daniels said more people were complaining about the rabbit problem.

"I'd go out for a night and maybe shoot, say, three or four, and now I'd be able to shoot eight, 10, 12 even,"

"A few of the farms I go out to have massive crops, and you just see acres of land getting destroyed by them."

Farmers hit hard

Biocontrols such as the calicivirus, developed in the 1990s and used to replace myxomatosis, developed in the 1950s, have been used by authorities to reduce rabbit populations for decades.

Cranbrook farmer Lewis Miller said resistance to the viruses had contributed to a rise in numbers.

"They've just got this immunity that's built up over time, and their numbers are gradually increasing again."

Mr Miller said he had about 40 rabbit warrens spread across his 3,000-hectare property, with hundreds of rabbits causing long-term damage to the farm.

"It's a nuisance for sure, just because they're obviously in competition with the sheep that we run on the property,"

"Rabbits graze plants basically down to the root system, and once you've done that, you've really sort of hampered the plant for its life."

'Plague proportions'

The federal government invested $2.6 million into a new rabbit biocontrol study as part of the 2026 budget.

The Australian Invasive Species Council welcomed the investment, but said it could take up to a decade to develop a new virus.

Senior advocate James Johnston said the country was approaching "plague level proportions" of the animals not seen since the 1990s.

"We are behind the eight ball on rabbit biocontrol in this country,"

Murdoch University wildlife ecologist Trish Fleming said rabbit biology necessitated updated control measures.

"There's substantial work that goes into developing new viruses to introduce as biocontrols for rabbits, and we do need a new one every 10 to 15 years,"

"The rabbits breed themselves out of it, so there's always going to be a requirement for us to bring a new one online."

A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson said it was working on the recommendations from the National Rabbit Biocontrol Pipeline Strategy, including developing new tools.