SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF RABBIT GRAZING ON A DEGRADED SHORT-TUSSOCK GRASSLAND IN CENTRAL OTAGO

Despite 120 years of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) control in New Zealand, there is a surprising dearth of quantitative information on the damage rabbits cause to agricultural systems and the environment. Research and debate on rabbits have traditionally centred on the various technical options available for their control, and their cost efficiency. Little attention has been paid to the environmental and economic costs of rabbit grazing. A clear understanding of the need for pest control is important because pest management concerns not only primary producers but also animal welfare groups, conservationists, commercial users of pest products, and Maori. Adopting more cost effective rabbit control technologies that some perceive to be more ‘risky’, such as biological control, clearly rests on a proper understanding of why there is a need to control rabbits. This paper contributes to that process by reporting the results of a short-term study on the impacts of rabbit grazing on pasture production in a degraded, dry short-tussock grassland. The results should be seen in the light of our intention to obtain indicative data only for a precisely chosen part of the vegetation community. Methods