There seems to be a lot of FUD about releasing calcivirus to kill rabbits. Calcivirus has been released in the past to control rabbit numbers without any ill e

There seems to be a lot of FUD about releasing calcivirus to kill rabbits. Calcivirus has been released in the past to control rabbit numbers without any ill effects on the greater ecosystem in New Zealand. Rabbits should not be a part of the ecosystem in New Zealand, they are an introduced species with no natural predators (and very few introduced predators) that destroy the habitat for native birds and cause soil erosion problems. RHDV1-K5 is not genetically engineered, it is a natural strain of the virus from Korea. Rabbits in New Zealand, having not been exposed to this strain before, have minimal immunity to the virus. The estimates for knockdown in Australia are up to 40%, they'll probably be more modest in New Zealand, due to the more varied terrain and isolated populations. As cute as rabbits may look, they are a disaster for the environment in New Zealand, along with possums, stoats, ferrets, pigs, goats, wallabies, tahr, and to a lesser extent chamois and deer.