P.O. Box 5
Afton, NY 13730
607.639.8200

     The article I read about was very, very interesting. The article was mainly about rabbits overpopulating Australia. The problem could have been (in may ways) ignored. The problem began when British settlers in Australia imported animals from their homeland in the 1800s.

     The problem got worse and worse as the years went on. So bad that scientists that worked for ANZRCDP had to come up with a way or at least try to come up with a way to kill off some of the rabbit population. The population of the rabbits got so intense that other species of animals had to move to different parts of Australia to survive and to get the right nutrition they needed.

     So the scientist came up with calicivirus. Calicivirus is a deadly virus made specifically to kill off the rabbits. They didn't know how other species would react to the virus, so they tried to keep it contained as best they could. Men checked the fences at least once a day to keep it as contained as possible.

     Somehow thpough, the virus escaped containment and started to kill off all of the rabbit population. Not all rabbits got the virus, but alot of them did. The virus started to kil off way more rabbits than anyone had ever expected.

     The people of Australia got very worried that the virus would spread to their domestic animals such as cats, dogs, cattle, livestock, etc. But scientists argued that there was no proof of that to be possible. The virus didn't just spread over Australia. It also traveled to other countries and continents.

     But the people of Australia want to give the virus a chance to see how things do finally work out in the end. Thery hope the virus does successfully kill off some of the rabbit population. They realize that either it will, or it won't. But they are gladly taking the risk that it will work, and they will have freedom from rabbits at last.