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Visit http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=13013 to read the latest news of Australia's efforts to eradicate introduced rabbits and rodents from sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island - a breeding site for seven ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.

The fourth issue (dated November 2009) of the project's newsletter, Macquarie Dispatch, has now been published, and reports on a project visit to Macquarie with members of the project's steering committee, along with two Springer spaniels trained to hunt the remaining rabbits after the poison-bait drop, scheduled for May next year.  The project's blog is full of detail of these two dogs:

"Happy to be back on land, Gus and Ash were overwhelmed with excitement.  They virtually ignored the welcome party of noisy elephant seals lolling around the boat landing area.  Trained to target only bunnies, they took off for the rabbit infested hills with trainer Steve Austin and eradication project assistant manager Geoff Woodhouse for a day of sheer bliss."

The successful eradication of rabbits and rodents at Macquarie Island will be a significant step forward for the enhanced protection of the island' fauna and flora, including its ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.

Click here for ACAP's "Guidelines for eradication of introduced mammals from breeding sites of ACAP-listed seabirds".

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 5 December 2009