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The Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project (MIPEP) aims to reduce the numbers of introduced European Rabbits on the island before this year's poison bait drop so there will be fewer poisoned corpses for scavenging seabirds to feed from come May.  Last year's aborted bait drop resulted in large numbers of ACAP-listed Northern Giant Petrels Macronectes halli dying from secondary poisoning after scavenging on rabbit corpses (click here).

The aim is to avoid as much as possible this happening again, both by introducing Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease virus via carrots to reduce the numbers of rabbits in advance and later during and after the bait drop by collecting as many poisoned carcasses as possible.

The latest ‘This week at Macquarie Island' (click here) carries a picture of the first rabbit mortality from the virus.

"This preliminary bio-control step is aimed at reducing rabbit numbers as much as possible prior to the helicopter bait laying programme, to commence in May.  We are doing this by distributing virus-laden grated carrot at selected high density sites, together with night catching (using spotlights to directly inject the virus) before release."

The Macquarie weekly news also reports that the Commonwealth Government has given approval for the MIPEP operation to take place this winter through the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act process (click here to access the review process and here to read its conclusion).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 February 2011