[WVDXA] VK0/M Trashed by Bunniey Rabbits

[Pstark]

SYDNEY (AFP) - An explosion in the rabbit population has "trashed" the World
Heritage listed Macquarie Island, which is home to endangered penguins and
albatrosses, the World Wide Fund for Nature said.

The conservation group is calling on the government to implement a 25
million dollar (21 million US) strategy to eradicate rabbits, rats and mice
on the sub-Antarctic territory.

WWF spokesman Andreas Glanznig said it was possible that mice, which have
been shown to become carnivorous on an island in the Atlantic, could evolve
enough to threaten endangered bird species on the remote scrap of land.

"It's a scary scenario but it's not outside the realm of possibility," he
said. But he added that rabbits posed the more immediate threat.

"The rabbits are changing the whole ecosystem. The ecosystem is literally
falling apart," Glanznig told AFP. "The whole island has been trashed."

Not to worry, I have the card.

Pete Stark  K4OM
EM88si
Huntington, WV