A waste of nutritious meat
Wild rabbits are now on every continent except the Arctic zones and they have been a constant source of trouble for New Zealand since their release in the 1930s.
On farmland they compete with livestock by eating good grasses.
They cause land damage with their extensive burrows, and in built-up areas they are learning how to survive and thrive on garden plants. It has been estimated that they cost New Zealand more than $50 million in lost production and at least $20m in pest control.
It’s interesting to note that rabbits are very efficient converters of green plants into high-value animal protein. They can turn 20 per cent of the plant proteins they eat into nutritious meat.
One of the reasons for this high plantconversion efficiency can be attributed to a distinctive ‘‘double digestion’’ process.
Digested plant material is passed out of the body as hard faecal droppings but partly digested material passes out of the body as softer pellets. These are soon eaten and fully digested, providing further nourishment for the rabbit.
In parts of Europe, Asia and Australia, rabbit farming is a profitable business.
Here in New Zealand rabbit farming is slow to gain momentum. Some wild rabbit meat is processed for human consumption but only a small number of the wild rabbits that are killed are used in this way.
The wild rabbit in the photograph was spotted feeding on a private lawn in the middle of the day.
When approached it ran a short distance then stopped and froze, probably thinking it had avoided detection. A click of the camera shutter sent it scurrying away.
Recently a keen shooter from Invercargill went for an evening rabbit shoot in Central Otago. He bagged 80 without having to walk very far. Most were left where they fell. What a waste of good, nutritious meat.