Rabbits make good pets provided they are housed and cared for appropriately. There are many domestic breeds of rabbits available in South Australia varying in size, colour and temperament. However, all breeds share one thing in common: they are related to wild rabbits.
Cute but destructive
Rabbits may look harmless, but let loose, they can cause havoc on our environment. Like their wild cousins, escaped domestic rabbits are capable of damaging and destroying a wide range of plants in both garden and natural bushland situations. In addition, their burrowing can lead to erosion problems on the land and can cause structural damage to buildings if they burrow underneath them. Rabbits breed quickly, so a small number of escaped rabbits causing a small amount of damage can become a large number of rabbits causing a lot of damage in a relatively short time.
Keep your rabbit captive – the law insists on it
To protect the environment from the effects of escaped domestic rabbits the Government of South Australia has given domestic rabbits declaration status under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004 (NRM Act).
More information
Download a brochure on controlling rabbits (pdf 1.7 mg)
Dowload a brochure on keeping rabbits (PDF) (860 KB)