"But in arid and semi-arid test sites where RCV rabbit mortality is as high as 95 per cent, feral cats and foxes, deprived of their traditional prey, are decimating native animals and birds."

"As rabbits continue to out-breed the spread of the disease in areas with rainfall of more than 300mm per annum, the RCV Management Group is preparing to try to speed up the natural spread of the virus with a bait delivery program."

"In NSW the virus has been re-released at 11 sites "where initial releases did not cause an obvious decline in rabbit numbers." The management group's August monitoring and surveillance report has confirmed that rabbits less than eight weeks old are not susceptible to RCV while those aged 8-12 weeks are protected by maternal antibodies."

"Some rabbits are developing immunity to RCV due to previous, undetected outbreaks and researchers fear unknown climatic factors may be working in favour of the rabbit."

"The effects of the arrival of RCV on the rabbit populations has been variable..." the report states. "More information is needed before the causes can be determined. Possibilities include variations in environmental conditions, presence or absence of vectors for spreading RCV, or differences in susceptibility of rabbits." The report confirms that at Lake Burrendong on NSW Central Tablelands "possum survivial declined after RCV arrived due to increased cat predation, with the number of possums lost in the last nine months equal to numbers lost in 27 months of pre-RCV data".

"At Hattah in Victoria, mallee fowl monitoring has shown a "higher level of nest abandonment and egg predation by foxes since RCD arrived".

"To date, no correlations have been found between small mammal or reptile numbers and declines in rabbit densities at any of the intensive sites," the report states."

"The two year monitoring and surveillance program, funded by the Agriculture and Resource Management and Ministerial Council, is co-ordinated by the Bureau of Resource Sciences and complements a CSIRO epidemiology program."

"There are 10 intensive sites across Australia where changes in rabbit populations, disease prevalence, flora, fauna, predators and vegetation are measured."