A PROFESSIONAL shooter has been brought in to eliminate problem rabbits at Ulladulla’s Lighthouse Oval.
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Shoalhaven City Council appointed a shooter to aim at the rabbits on Monday night in an effort to reduce the growing population which is causing havoc on the playing fields.
Milton-Ulladulla Panthers Football Club president Rod Kain told the Times volunteers were spending hours every day filling in up to 50 rabbit holes on the soccer fields.
He said the holes and scratchings, up to 30 centimetres deep, were a danger to young players training and playing on the fields and the club had a duty of care to maintain the grounds.
“It’s getting out of hand,” he said.
“It’s OK when there are a few holes to fill in, but we are filling between 30 and 50 holes each day.
“It’s just ridiculous.”
Mr Kain said the rabbits were reaching “plague proportions” in the Ulladulla area and he fears they will get “out of control” come spring breeding time.
However a council spokesperson said shooting contractors had recently recorded lower than usual rabbit numbers and denied there was a major problem.
“It’s an ongoing issue at Lighthouse Oval,” he added.
“But numbers aren’t as high as they have been in the past three or four years.”
The spokesperson said, in the past, baiting and poisoning methods at the fields had proven ineffective and told the Times that shooting was the best method.
He said regular shooting programs were also being carried out near the Lighthouse and around the Headland Tourist Park.
Mr Kain agreed the poisoning had been ineffective and called on council to do more to assist with field maintenance and to reduce the rabbit population before a soccer player or member of the public is injured.