Bait material for poisoning rabbits. II. A field study of the acceptance of carrots and oats by wild populations

Abstract

The examination of some 3000 rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), poisoned at different seasons of the year with two different baits and at two widely different localities, showed a seasonal variation in bait acceptance but little difference between the two areas. Oats and carrot, the two baits offered equally as free-feed and as poisoned bait, differ considerably in their water content (10% and 87 "/,) and it is suggested that water stress during the summer influenced the selection of bait by the rabbits towards the moister material. The quantity of bait consumed depended on the nature of the available natural herbage and varied between locations and seasonally. Evidence is presented to show that rabbits unaccustomed to eating seeds take a considerable time to accept oats as a food; this and the lowered acceptability of oats during the hot dry summer render oats a less reliable bait than carrot for poisoning rabbits in eastern Australia.