19. Introducing Rabbits to Australia
In hindsight, few ideas have been as harebrained as that of the British introducing rabbits to Australia, and deliberately releasing them into the wild to breed like… well… rabbits. Knowing what we know today about the harms caused by tampering with ecologies, it seems incredible that the British thought that releasing breeding rabbits into the Australian Outback was a good idea. Just as incredible is the train of logic that got them there: the idea to release rabbits as a food source, which was shortsighted but understandable, and the idea to release them as prey to hunt for fun, which was bonkers.
The British initially viewed Australia as a convenient dumping ground for convicts. For generations, the American Colonies had served that role, but that outlet was closed after America’s independence. Understandably, the new republic was less than eager to go on accepting shiploads of British jailbirds. So the British began transporting their convicts to Australia, which had been recently explored by Captain Cook. Convicts need to be fed, however, so the British transported rabbits alongside the cons.
