Pesky wild rabbits running rampant at Werribee Zoo

Wild rabbits are running riot at Werribee’s Open Range Zoo with numbers exploding due to the warmer weather.

Staff have started a humane management program to reduce numbers as the rabbits graze on hay and pellets meant for the zoo animals.

‘It’s spring and the sun is shining, the grass is growing, the birds are singing, and the rabbits are breeding like rabbits,’ Russel Traher from the zoo told 3AW Breakfast.

‘They are one of those boom and bust species which means that when the conditions are right the population can increase really quickly.’

The trickiest part of the management program is keeping the bunnies away from the hungry carnivores, he said.

LISTEN: General manager of life sciences Russel Traher on 3AW Breakfast