Australian authorities set to release deadly virus to stop pest rabbits

It is bad news for Australian rabbits as the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries are set to release a killer virus on the state's population in March.

Originating in China during the 1980's, Calicivirus will target the introduced species which have plagued farmers and caused great damage to much of Australia's native flora.

With over 1, 000 sites to be baited, "all they need to do is put carrots out in places where rabbits feed, then the rabbits will come and eat the carrots and then trigger an outbreak," Department of Primary Industries project leader Tanya Cox said.

This is not the first time an idea like this has been trialled.

In the 1990's, authorities tested the validity of controlling rabbits by infecting the population on a small island off the coast of South Australia.

As a result, the virus managed to escape its quarantine on the island and kill around 10 million rabbits in under 8 weeks, about 98 percent of the country's population.

But since then the rabbits have returned, but authorities believe a new Korean strain of the Calicivirus called RHDV-K5, will have more targeted success.

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries have urged rabbit owners to get their pets vaccinated before the virus is released. Endit