While they are cute and cuddly, rabbits can also be a pest. In other places of the world, rabbits are notorious for their destruction of gardens, ranches, farms, and native habitats. Allowing rabbits to create a stable wild population can quickly escalate into a wide range of problems for Hawai‛i.

When rabbits were first introduced to Australia in the 1850s, they quickly spread across the entire continent. The first introduction started with only 13 rabbits, but today Australia has a population of over 200 million rabbits. They were the cause of the extinction of many ground-dwelling mammals and plants in Australia. Besides just destroying crops, rabbits ring trees and eat any seedlings trying to sprout, causing loss of vegetation and soil erosion.

While rabbits make cute pets, they become a huge nuisance when they are released into the wild. Since 2016, more and more rabbits are being sighted on Hawai‛i island  – and we’re asking all of our residents to keep an eye out and report loose rabbit sightings.