Prime Minister Jim Bolger says cabinet will be considering a report on the RCD virus today, and has indicated that perhaps MAF had been too cautious in holding back on the introduction of the virus..

The Ministry of Agriculture has prepared advice on several options, including whether to let the virus run its course.

Rabbits living on hundreds of thousands of hectares of the central South Island are now believed to be deliberately infected with RCD by farmers.

MAF's chief vet, Barry O'Neil, has already said he doubts RCD can be contained in the South Island or rabbit-prone areas.

But he says MAF's objective is to give the Government as much information as it can, including the extent of the spread and how much monitoring should be in place.

Conservation issues are also on the agenda, with advice from the Department of Conservation on whether predators are expected to switch to native fauna if rabbits aren't around.

But it's not expected that Cabinet will make any decision today on whether MAF should begin a controlled release of RCD to unaffected areas of the country.