Field Evaluation of 1080 and Pindone Oat Bait, and the Possible Decline in Effectiveness of Poison Baiting for the Control of the Rabbit, Oryctolagus Cuniculus.

Abstract

Two types of oat grain bait, one containing 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) and the other pindone (2-pivalyl-1,3-indandione) were tested in south-western Australia for effectiveness in rabbit control. No significant difference was found between the performances of the two poisons in the dry summer. 1080 was more effective in summer than in the wet winter, whereas the difference in seasonal performance of pindone was not significant. The most likely reason for this is that 1080, unlike pindone, is readily soluble in water. The above trials of 1080 poison (made in 1971-75) were then compared with earlier trials, undertaken in 1958-62; this comparison suggests a marked decline in the effectiveness of poison baiting in Western Australia. Selection for neophobia in rabbit populations is suggested as a possible cause of this decline.