Rabbit and hare cull under way at Mulligans Flat as sanctuary expands

Rabbits and hares to be culled in Mulligans Flat Sanctuary.

Any rabbits and hares found within the Mulligans Flat Sanctuary are to be culled as the wildlife reserve starts to triple in size.

The 485-hectare sanctuary is being expanded to the south, with new predator-proof fencing adding 801 hectares to the site, which will eventually contain 1286 hectares of protected area.

While there isn’t a large rabbit population in Mulligans Flat, they have the potential to damage native flora and vegetation, so animal pest controllers will target them before turning their attention to foxes and feral cats.

To allow the control work to take place, parts of Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve will be closed each Thursday evening from 16 August through to 4 October.

The control program follows on from the successful work done in the original sanctuary and ACT Environment Minister Mick Gentleman believes the larger sanctuary will provide greater protection for larger populations of reintroduced species.

“The program was so successful that no rabbits or hares have been seen or reported in the sanctuary since September 2016,” he said.

“This is a remarkable achievement and has seen many lessons learnt which can now be utilised in the expanded sanctuary.”

Mr Gentleman expects the 12 km extension of the predator-proof fence to be completed by October 2018.