Rabbit control: bait products

For information on how to access bait, poison and toxin (bait) products, training required, animal welfare considerations and legal requirements, see the Bait and poison directory for vertebrate pests in Western Australia primary web page.

For information on bait, poison and toxin (bait) products available for use in WA relevant to rabbits, see the information below.

Rabbits

Rabbits are declared under the Biosecurity and Agricultural Management Act 2007.

Refer to Animal welfare in the primary Bait and poison directory web pages for how and why a pest needs to be declared before being baited.

The Western Australian Organism List (WAOL) contains information on the area(s) in which this pest is declared and the control and keeping categories to which it has been assigned in WA. Use the links on this page to reach rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus (feral) or Oryctolagus cuniculus (domestic) in WAOL.

Rabbit control

Control of rabbits involves shooting, warren destruction, biological control agents, infection, trapping, fencing, fumigation and/or the use of bait products. Further information on managing rabbits can be found through the following links:

• Pest animals: Pest mammals
• Options for rabbit control
• How to lay rabbit baits
• European rabbit
• Rabbit control in urban and semi-urban areas
• Rabbit control: 1080 verses pindone
• Rabbit control: bait stations
• Rabbit control: fumigation
• Rabbit warren and harbourage destruction
• Rabbit fencing to protect crops and pasture
• Invasive Animal Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) link: feral.org.au
• Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) link: PUBCRIS or Permits database for the most recent information on individual baits or poisons

Using rabbit bait: pre-feeding vs no prefeeding

Landholders need to check pre-feeding requirements before laying out rabbit baits. Each rabbit bait product has different requirements, and landholders should check the packet for instructions. A flyer detailing the specifications of each product can be downloaded from this page (Rabbit bait pre-feeding requirements).

In summary, only the One Shot ready to lay oat bait does not require pre-feeding of unpoisoned baits. These oats are mixed with plain oats to attract the rabbits to the trail, and each poisoned oat contains a lethal dose of 1080.

In other products, every oat contains a tiny dose of poison, meaning that many oats must be consumed to provide a lethal dose. Therefore, pre-feeding is mandatory, to encourage a full feed rather than rabbits just picking at the trail.

A sub-lethal dose will cause illness and not death, meaning the rabbit will be more likely to become bait-shy, and in the long term could develop 1080 resistance.

Products requiring pre-feeding include pre-mixed 1080 rabbit baits, and concentrates mixed with oats. Pre-feeding should be undertaken two-three times with intervals of at least three days.

Bait products

Bait products registered for use on rabbits in WA have sodium fluoroacetate (1080) (Table 1), pindone (Table 2) or rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) (Table 3) as their active ingredient. Fumigants using chloropicrin (Table 4) or phosphine (Table 5) as the active ingredient are also registered for use in WA.

Note: when online, navigate through this document more easily by using the content headings located at the top right of this page.

Sodium fluoroacetate (1080)

Several 1080 products are registered for use on rabbits in WA (Table 1). Fluoroacetate is metabolised in mitochondria to fluorocitrate. Fluorocitrate inhibits the enzyme aconitase in the Krebs cycle. When this cycle is blocked, the cell ceases to function through lack of energy (see pesticides used in the management of vertebrate pests and sodium fluoroacetate (1080) links). Many native animals in WA have co-evolved with fluoroacetate-bearing native plants, and as a consequence, are more tolerant to 1080 making it a more selective poison in WA for recently introduced, non-native species.

Sodium fluoroacetate is a Schedule 7 poison and a restricted chemical product. In WA its use and supply is bound by the Code of practice for the safe use and management of 1080 in Western Australia. It is only available to authorised suppliers and users (including appropriately Licenced Pest Management Technicians) who are trained to handle, store and use it safely and efficiently.

Pindone

Several pindone products are registered for use on rabbits in WA (Table 2). Pindone is an anticoagulant rodenticide that blocks the vitamin K cycle causing internal bleeding and preventing blood clotting. Pindone must generally be consumed many times before death occurs. It is safer to use for rabbit control in populated areas where the single dose 1080 is either impractical, unsuitable, or a risk to humans or domestic animals. Concentrated forms of Pindone are Schedule 6 poisons and restricted chemical products and can only be supplied to or used by an authorised person. The antidote for pindone poisoning is active Vitamin K (see pesticides used in the management of vertebrate pests and pindone links).

Care needs to be exercised where native animals such as kangaroos and southern brown bandicoots (quendas) are present. A risk assessment should always be carried out prior to any baiting program where non target species could be at risk of consuming bait.

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus

One rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus product is registered for use on rabbits in WA (Table 3). The virus is a simple no-cellular agent comprising of an RNA molecule. It reproduces within the rabbit particularly within the liver primarily causing liver failure and blood clotting. It is a restricted chemical product and can only be supplied to or used by an authorised person. It is recommended that specific training in it’s use be provided to end users (including Licenced Pest Management Ttechnicians) prior to use.

Phosphine

Several phosphine products are registered for use on rabbits in WA (Table 5). The mode of action of phosphine is not well understood but it is principally a strong inhibitor of mitochondria respiration by inhibiting cytochrome oxidase. Access to this chemical in WA is very restricted. It is a Schedule 7 poison and can only be supplied to or used by an authorised person (see pesticides used in the management of vertebrate pests link). Licenced Pest Management Technicians require specific training before they can use phosphine.