Back in 1859, a mere 24 European breeding rabbits, scientific name Oryctolagus cuniculus, disembarked from England, brought over by Thomas Austin, who enjoyed hunting parties on his Victoria estate.

Why Rabbit Hunting Is the Most Fun You Can Have Outdoors in Winter. Jump-shooting cottontails with classic upland guns is about as good a time as you can have in the outdoors.

With their outsized ears and fluffy fur, rabbits are often seen as cute and harmless. Yet the creature is behind one of the globe's most harmful biological invasions, ravaging Australia, whose ...

Plus, in the mid-19th century, humans were turning the outback into pastures and hunting rabbits’ predators, making it easier for these invaders to survive, Science writes.

Back in 1859, a mere 24 European breeding rabbits, scientific name Oryctolagus cuniculus, disembarked from England, brought over by Thomas Austin, who enjoyed hunting parties on his Victoria estate.

The number of wild rabbits in Australia peaked at 10bn in 1920, when the creatures had spread to 70 per cent of Australia’s landmass, some 5.3mn sq km.

All the latest science news on rabbit from Phys.org. Find ... the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, ... snakes they were brought in to hunt and preyed on endangered local rabbits ...

Rabbits came to Australia on the first fleet in 1788, but spread prolifically after grazier Thomas Austin introduced them to south-west Victoria in 1859 for hunting.

Mobile butcher Russell Barnes and Age journalist Benjamin Preiss hunting rabbits. Credit: Jason South Rabbit colonies have savaged this undulating landscape, leaving it pockmarked and scarred.

Australia's rabbit invasion began with just 24 animals brought from England in 1869, a new study has confirmed. ... Thomas Austin, who had shipped the wild rabbits to hunt.

Andrew Cox, chief executive of the Invasive Species Council , has warned that land managers are concerned feral deer will become "Australia's next rabbit plague".