From ‘Silver Bullet’ to Integrated Controls: Shifting community approaches to rabbit management

After more than seven years of facilitating annual Calicivirus RHDV1-K5 releases across its Operational Area, Leschenault Biosecurity Group (LBG)  is seeing an encouraging shift in how landholders approach rabbit management.

Formal participant feedback and changing landholder enquiries suggest that more people are looking beyond participating in this K5 release program as a once-a-year solution. They are considering implementation of additional controls as part of a broader, ongoing rabbit management strategy. This shift aligns strongly with LBG’s consistent messaging that Calicivirus is not a “silver bullet”, but rather one important tool within an integrated rabbit management approach that relies on the strategic use of multiple control methods over time.

 

For LBG, one of the strongest indicators of the success of its rabbit management support program is not the participation numbers in the annual K5 releases, but the increasingly common question: “What should I do next?” This behaviour change shows that participants are committed and active and think beyond the annual K5 release.

In 2026, LBG deliberately built on this momentum by extending its engagement beyond the annual release, introducing a post-release Integrated Rabbit Management Workshop to complement its established pre-release participant workshops. This initiative focused on practical, property-specific planning and the strategic timing and combination of control methods.

LBG is one of Western Australia’s 14 community-led Recognised Biosecurity Groups and its experience highlights a lesson that applies equally to rabbit management and community engagement: persistence matters.

Learn more about how its rabbit management support program is evolving.