Plans to blow up rabbits shelved because of fire concerns

Herald Sun ^ | 28th January 2009 | William Jackson

[naturalman1975]

MELBOURNE Water and Nillumbik Council have dropped plans to blow up rabbits with explosive gas after warnings about fire dangers.

A joint project using “oxygen detonation technology” to destroy warrens along the Diamond Creek, between Nillumbik Park and Diamond Creek Reserve, had been due to start on Tuesday this week, the Diamond Valley Leader reports.

A public notice issued by the council had advised residents they might hear regular “muffled explosions” as far as a kilometre away.

[TASMANIANRED]

You aren't being creative enough.

Dog food, cat food. Both of them love rabbit.

Export them to the US.

We are sick of Chinese melamine in dog food, I'd be delighted to feed my pooches rabbit.

[naturalman1975]

The rabbit area is pretty much the entire continent. We have tried building rabbit fences in the past to contain them.

and they span the continent.

[TChris]

What happened to the work on a rabbit-specific disease? Seems like biological warfare would be the way to go.

[TASMANIANRED]

Rabbit is a natural resource...Fur and food.

I could make a fortune.

People in the US pay a premium for Free range chicken and you have free range Rabbit.

I’m sure the Chinese and Koreans could come up with 200 ways to cook it.

I’d be catching and flash freezing as many as I could ship.

Rabbit fur is warm. Coats, gloves, boots, slippers.

[smokingfrog]

One down, two million to go...

[Arrowhead1952]

Don’t let PETA see that in operation.

[Centurion2000]

Rodents and explosives? Looks like a job for Carl Spackler!!

Die Rodent!!

[Centurion2000]

Muffled my left buttcheek....

[naturalman1975]

It’s been tried twice. Myxamatosis was introduced into the population in 1950 and was reasonably successful. Short term it reduced the number of rabbits dramatically and even today, numbers are less than half of what they were before Myx, though resistance increases each year.

Calicivirus was accidentally released in 1996 (it was still undergoing testing at the time) and has had some impact, but there’s a milder form of the virus natually occurring in the population and this seems to give a degree of immunity to many rabbits.

[naturalman1975]

We do all that.

Seriously - we exploit rabbits in any way we can. The scale of the numbers involved though is so large that all of this just doesn’t make any real dent.

[TChris]

It’s been tried twice. Myxamatosis was introduced into the population in 1950 and was reasonably successful. Short term it reduced the number of rabbits dramatically and even today, numbers are less than half of what they were before Myx, though resistance increases each year.

Maybe they should try emulating influenza and create some variation of Myx which bypasses the resistance.

I would think that a problem of this magnitude should demand the attention of some smart biologists...

Of course, I've had all of one semester of biology in in college, so I'm really just spouting off.

[Tarantulas]

Fill the holes with nitrogen. The bunnies will die instantly and peacefully.

[BlueNgold]

So, they are breeding like .... rabbits?
Shocker!

[Doomonyou]

Just give me enough ammo...

[Desron13]

In an abandoned ware house with no lights just shadows and soon no rabbits. The purpose of the event was to pass the torch. From one generation of heavy metal to the next. And their lie...in his black leather hunting outfit with shotgun guitar with spikes coming out of it, Ozzie Fudd the Rabbit Slayer!

In the dead of night
A shimmewin’ wight
Gweem of a bwade
And dah devew was paid
When dah axe comes down
A chiwin’ sound
? get’s dah head
Anothaw wabbit’s dead
I'm a wabbit swayer
A guitaw pwayaw
With a nasty habbit

Kill dah wabbit!!! (hah hah hah)
AhhhaahooOhhh
Be vewy vewy qwiet!
I'm wookin’ fo wabbits...

I'm a mean mistweetah
A wabbit feastah
And I pwedict
A bwoody Eastaw
A scuwowing shadow
And dah shadow was dis wabbit
And dah night aiwah echoes
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Kill dah wabbit!!!
Ohhhh...and dayah won't be any mow wabbits awound
No mow Wodgah Wabbit
No mow Petah Wabbit
And no mow Pwayboy Bunny Wabbits!
Ah ha ha ha ha
Be vewy vewy cawhafo

Translated:
In the dead of night
A shimmerin’ light
Geam of a blade
And the devil was paid
When the axe comes down
A chilling sound
?(scewer) gets the head
Another rabbit's dead
I'm a rabbit slayer
A guitar player
With a nasty habit

Kill the rabbit!!!
AhhhaahooOhhh
Be very very quiet!
I'm lookin’ for rabbits...

I'm a mean mistreater
A rabbit feaster
And I predict
A bloody Easter
A scurrying shadow
And the shadow was this rabbit
And the night air echoes
Kill the rabbit!!!
Kill the rabbit!!!
Kill the rabbit!!!
Kill the rabbit!!!
Kill the rabbit!!!
Kill the rabbit!!!
Kill the rabbit!!!
Ohhhh...and there won't be any more rabbits around
No more Rodger Rabbit
No more Peter Rabbit
And no more Playboy Bunny Rabbits!
Ah ha ha ha ha
Be very very careful

[calico_thompson]

I vote to Rodenate the Hamas tunnels in Gaza too.

[naturalman1975]

The CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - Australia national government body for scientific research) puts a lot of research into this, and are researching potential new methods of biological controls. They proceed with great caution though and only pus for release when they are sure they have it right.

[naturalman1975]

You’d be welcome - but you’d need a lot of ammo. It’s 8.30am right now and I would say I could get about 25 rabbits before midday if I wanted to.

I don’t - it’s going to be 110F today. I’m staying inside.

[Towed_Jumper]

“It’s probably safer than blowing up a whale.”

lol...everytime I see that news video I think about that scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...”You think you used enought dynamite there Butch?”

[TChris]

They proceed with great caution though and only push for release when they are sure they have it right.

Quite prudent when you're making diseases. :-)