Council bunny baiting to resume

POISONED bait will be laid at a Clifton Springs reserve this month to reduce the area’s rabbit population.

Chopped carrot treated with anticoagulant poison Pindone will be put out at Griggs Creek Reserve between July 16 and August 27.

Geelong council said the bait would only be laid within the fenced area of the reserve.

“Access is not permitted at any time within the fenced area and the maintenance access gates will be locked,” the council said in a public notice. “Pets may be at risk if they ingest the poisoned baits or rabbit carcasses.

“Vitamin K1, which is available from veterinarians, is an antidote for Pindone.

“Any carrot pieces observed, or rabbits found either alive or dead in the reserve should not be handled.”

It comes after the council’s annual Pindone poising program was halted in February — 15 years after it started — due to safety fears.

The council warned of a surge in the rabbit population at the time.

It said the bait would be laid by a licensed government contractor.

Last year, the RHDV1 K5 virus — the latest weapon in the fight against rabbits burrowing into orchards and farmland across the region — was released in Torquay, Lorne, Queenscliff, Mt Duneed, Bambra, Batesford, Bellbrae and Birregurra.

Agriculture Victoria said the virus would reduce the region’s European rabbit population by 10-40 per cent after it was released.