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ARCHIVED - The rabbit paradox in Spain: an agricultural pest in danger of extinction
Farmers in Andalucía and Valencia are persecuted by wild rabbits destroying their crops
Wild rabbits in Spain are facing a bit of a tricky situation: on the one hand, the species is officially in danger of extinction, but on the other, these pint-sized animals are considered a serious pest by the country’s agriculture sector.
The paradox is caused by the changing environment; the rabbit population is plummeting in the mountains, where it forms a vital part of the ecosystem as prey for lynx, imperial eagles and other species, but their numbers are soaring in and around farmland, where they are hunted endlessly in a desperate attempt to save crops.
The landscape of Spain’s countryside has changed dramatically over the years. Where once there were smaller farms clustered together, separated by stone walls and fences, now there are vast sprawling acres of uninterrupted agricultural land as far as the eye can see.
“There is not even a post for birds of prey to perch on,” explained Ramón Pérez de Ayala, who is responsible for WWF Species Projects in Spain.
“In the agricultural areas there were boundaries, bushes, trees... and this allowed the existence of predators” that managed to keep other species at bay, thus creating a balance, he added.
But that has ended with the proliferation of larger, vast, open plains “where they have a lot of food and no predators,” and rabbits can run free and breed unchecked.
Rabbits are far from an exotic species in Spain, but their population is going down rapidly in their natural habitat of the mountains.
“The problem, therefore, is that they are poorly distributed,” the expert claims.
Hunting is only a temporary fix, according to the WWF; because rabbits reproduce so frequently, and no sooner are the pests considered under control than new herds pop up to begin the cycle again.
Currently, the most affected regions in Spain are Castilla-La Mancha, the Guadalquivir basin in Andalucía, central Castilla y León, Aragón and, depending on the year, the Valencian Community.
WWF proposes, as a complement to hunting, installing fences up to 60 centimetres high in open land, which could be jumped by almost any wild animals except for rabbits. In addition, the experts recommend that farmers place acoustic repellents and a foliar fertiliser on their land that will deter rabbits.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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