Council to cull rabbits in bid to save rural headstones

DESTRUCTIVE rabbits undermining graves in a rural graveyard will be killed off by the local council.

The creatures have been eating flowers left by grieving relatives and causing structural problems by burrowing at the cemetery in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

The scale of the problem has now got to the stage where the council is bringing in specialists to have the rabbits gassed.

A ‘fast-acting poisonous gas’ is to be put through the various burrows which will then be sealed to cull the animals as quickly as possible.

The gas should disperse in 24 hours but the area will be closed for two days next week as a precaution.

Landscape services officer Shirley Bruce said: ‘Clearly this is a last resort but the problem is getting out of control. We are asked on a regular basis to take action due to the damage caused.

‘It is very upsetting for the recently bereaved to visit a family member soon after leaving flowers at their grave to see them destroyed.’

She added: ‘While this action won’t be popular with everyone, it’s vital that we do it for safety reasons – some of the headstones could become unstable and cause significant injury or worse.

‘We’ve chosen to take this particular approach because it is known to be highly effective and we want to have a significant impact on the rabbit population as humanely as possible.’