Marlborough rabbit population cut

The illicit introduction of rabbit haemorrhagic disease in 1997 has cut the rabbit population at Molesworth station - the nation's biggest farm - from an average of more than 50 rabbits per kilometre in 1996 to an average of 4.5 per/km in March this year.

The Marlborough District Council's rural services manager, Alan Johnson, said he estimated the introduction of RHD, smuggled into New Zealand in 1997, had reduced the number of rabbits in Marlborough by around 70 per cent.