BY ALANA MITCHELSON
A Bellarine Peninsula golf course has been surrounded with a 3.9km rabbit-proof fence in an Australian first.
Rabbits had been causing widespread damage and consequent safety concerns at Curlewis Golf Club, said director David Sharp.
“They’re an all-round pest. Our golf course is about 60 hectares and it’s difficult to say but I reckon the rabbits have been in the thousands,” Mr Sharp said.
“They scratch, dig holes and, apart from spoiling course aesthetics, their activity can create ongoing hazard and safety issues for players and grounds staff alike. You can twist an ankle or lose your balance with rabbit holes in the ground.
“Rabbits are also a huge threat to hundreds of endangered native plants and animals. They compete with animals for food, devour native plants, destabilise native habitats and damage the soil.
“The damage has certainly been worse this spring, probably in part due to a drier spring which would provide better breeding conditions.”
Mr Sharp said rabbits had also impacted his adjacent family vineyard, with their holes and burrows complicating machinery access to vines.
But golf club staff had already reported benefits from the fence since its installation in November, Mr Sharp said.
“There are fewer rabbits. The golf club has been systematically destroying rabbit warrens and that should reduce what would otherwise be ongoing costs of eradicating them.
“Land owners have an obligation to control rabbits. If all properties get on board we’ll be able to better control the situation on the Bellarine.“
