Rabbits around a waterhole during myxomatosis trials at Wardang Island, South Australia

Rabbits during a myxomatosis trial in 1938. European wild rabbits were introduced into Australia in 1859. Within 50 years, rabbits had spread across almost the whole of Australia. Rabbits had a devastating effect on Australia’s environment, and people have tried different ways to reduce their numbers. In 1950 scientists at the CSIRO released the myxomatosis virus (a disease that affects rabbits) into Australia’s wild rabbit population. The disease spread very quickly and killed around 500 million rabbits. This was the most successful attempt to control rabbit numbers in Australia’s history.