A MAN has been fined $5000 for failing to control rabbits on his property despite being warned to do so by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries.
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The man said the weather, the cost and the terrain had all hampered his control efforts and he pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a land management notice in the Ararat Magistrates’ Court.
In November 2012, DEPI officers visited the property in Glenlofty and found 393 rabbit warrens and issued a notice for the man to control the rabbits, however, despite a second visit where officers counted 503 warrens, the man still failed to control the problem.
Magistrate Peter Mithen found the man guilty of the charge and also ordered the man pay $2600 in court costs as a result of the matter.
Speaking to The Courier on Monday, DEPI biosecurity compliance manager Andrew Staley said rabbits had the potential to cause “enormous damage to the natural environment”.
“The key to rabbit control is the destruction and management of the warrens,” he said.
“We don’t have a huge number of theses cases on a regular basis.”
