WHILE Shire of Mundaring residents have been seeking support for the increasing rabbit sightings in the area they are discovering that no authority is managing the wild rabbits now disrupting homes and private infrastructure.

Parkerville resident Claire Silveira said rabbit numbers in Mundaring seem to be at an all-time high after living in the area over a decade.

“We’ve lived here for 13 years, and we’ve never seen numbers like this,” she said.

“I’ve gotten in contact with multiple agencies and as a layman everyone’s assuming there’s an agency responsible that’s controlling numbers and baiting the rabbits, but there isn’t.

“My property backs onto John Forrest National Park, and so I contacted the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) who said they weren’t a priority for them at the moment.”

A DBCA spokesperson said there were more pressing issues on land under their control.

“The DBCA does not consider rabbit control to be among the most pressing issues on DBCA managed land in the Perth Hills district,” they said.

“DBCA continues to focus efforts on the control of feral predators such as foxes and cats and feral herbivores such as pigs and goats.

“Control options are available to local communities and landholders are detailed on the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) website.”

A DPIRD spokesperson confirmed they did not monitor rabbit numbers and said the responsibility of managing rabbit populations belonged to residents.

“Rabbit populations fluctuate in numbers in localised areas — DPIRD does not monitor rabbit numbers,” they said.

“As rabbits are a widespread and established pest, it is landholders’ responsibility to control rabbits.

“On occasions local communities may arrange a local coordinated response to an increase in rabbit numbers.”

A Shire of Mundaring spokesperson said the shire was aware residents had been having concerns about the rabbits in the hills.

“Environmental services do receive questions from the community regarding rabbit issues in the hills,” they said.

“The responsibility for rabbit control lies with individual landowners.

“DPIRD has a comprehensive list of control options and the advantages and disadvantages.

“DPIRD also offer a free online course to complete the training to handle the RHDV1 K5 virus — this was previously known as calicivirus.

“The shire will be holding a feral animal and fox control workshop on November 16.

“The shire would encourage landowners to report rabbits or other feral animals to FeralScan.

“The database will further assist with any release trials and targeted pest management.”

Residents looking for more information about rabbit control may visit this website.