Rabbits were introduced to Australia by the First Fleet and the first feral populations were established in Tasmania by 1827.
Rabbits in plague proportions. Rabbits, like most other pest species, were introduced when Europeans first settled in Australia. Rabbits were introduced from two main sources; the domesticated rabbit which provided early settlers with a ready source of meat, and the wild rabbit introduced later for hunting. Thomas Austin is credited with releasing 24 wild rabbits at his Barwon Park property near Geelong in Victoria in 1859. This small population exploded to cover Victoria and New South Wales by 1886. By 1900, rabbits had reached the Northern Territory and Wester By the 1920s, less than 70-years since its introduction, the rabbit population in Australia ballooned to an estimated 10 billion, reproducing at a rate of 18 to 30 per single female rabbit per year. The rabbis started to migrate across Australia at a rate of 80 miles a year.  Mode(s) of Introduction: The European rabbit was introduced to all of its present non-native habitats by humans, including the afore-mentioned Mr. Austin, who had his first 24 rabbits shipped to Victoria, Australia, by boat. Unfortunately for the continent, there were males and females in this shipment.  Rabbits are a serious mammalian pest and invasive species in Australia causing millions of dollars of damage to crops. Rabbits were introduced to Australia in the 18th century with the First Fleet and became widespread after an outbreak caused by an 1859 release. In 1907, the rabbit-proof fence was built in Western Australia between Cape Keraudren and Esperance to try to control the spread of the rabbit population from the east into Western Australian pastoral areas. Answers. Best Answer: --Rabbits were first introduced to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788 --------- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_... Annually, European rabbits cause millions of dollars of damage to crops.-------- Rabbits were first introduced to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788. They were bred as food animals, probably in cages The Rabbit Proof Fence. The rabbit-proof fence was built to protect Western Australian crops and pasture lands from the destructive scourge of the rabbit. Introduced to Australia in Victoria in the 1850s, the pest rapidly spread across eastern Australia.  History. Rabbits were introduced to Australia by the First Fleet and the first feral populations were established in Tasmania by 1827. The Victorian Acclimatisation Society released 24 rabbits on Christmas Day 1859 to hunt for sport and to help settlers feel more 'at home' In 1907, a rabbit-proof fence was built in Western Australia in an unsuccessful attempt to contain the rabbits. The myxoma virus, which causes myxomatosis, was introduced into the rabbit population in the 1950s and had the effect of severely reducing the rabbit population. In 1907, the rabbit-proof fence was built in Western Australia between Cape Keraudren and Esperance to try to control the spread of the rabbit population from the east into Western Australian pastoral areas.
http://www.animalcontrol.com.au/rabbit.htm http://geography.about.com/od/australiamaps/a/Feral-Rabbits-In-Australia.htm http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Oryctolagus_cuniculus.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090917160930AAJvNJH http://slwa.wa.gov.au/wepon/land/html/rabbits.html http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pestsweeds/RabbitFactsheet.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia
when was the rabbit first introduced to australia