"The Australian government has agreed to compensate people who hunt rabbits and others who can prove that they suffered financially as a result of the accidental escape of the rabbit calicivirus from experimental sites on Wardang Island, off South Australia, in October 1995."

"Those making the claims will be asked to provide proof of their previous profits and their probable financial losses for the year years 1995 to 1998."

" "The proposal recognises that while most people continue to benefit from rabbit calicivirus disease, a small minority may have been temporarily disadvantaged," says Peter McGauran, minister for science and technology."

"However, the government does not accept liability. The payments will be made to acknowledge that a small number of businesses may not have been prepared for the escape."

"The announcement was made on the same day that the Melbourne law firm Slater and Gordon issued a writ against CSIRO, Australia's national research organisation, and the government."

"The writ, filed on behalf of 30 rabbit hunters, meat processors and skinners, seeks unspecified damages, Mark Walter of Slater and Gordon says the case will not be dropped. "There's a world of difference between an offer of compensation and dollars and cents," he says."