
Is it illegal to own a rabbit in Queensland unless you're a magician? - zeristor
https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/39758/is-it-illegal-to-own-a-rabbit-in-queensland-unless-youre-a-magician
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ukulele
Answer:

> From Queensland's Department of Agriculture and Fisheries brochure Can I
> have a pet rabbit?,

> Why are pet rabbits illegal in Queensland?

> Rabbits are Australia's most destructive agricultural and environmental
> introduced animal pest, [...]

> Can I get a permit for a pet rabbit?

> A permit cannot be issued for keeping pet rabbits of any variety for any
> private purpose.

> A permit to keep domestic rabbits in Queensland can only be approved if the
> animal is being kept for an approved purpose:

> certain forms of public entertainment (e.g. magic show and circuses)

> scientific and research purposes

So you could be a magician OR a scientist

~~~
__s
Any sufficiently advanced scientist is indistinguishable from a magician

~~~
no_wizard
The difference being one takes brains and the other takes dark eyeliner

Edit: I was making a tongue and cheek joke for all the rick and morty fans out
there sorry if that was out of line

~~~
eric_the_read
FYI, I believe you may have meant "tongue in cheek": [https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/tongue-in-cheek](https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/tongue-in-cheek)

~~~
no_wizard
I did, thank you.

Again, I can't delete it, and I stand by having fun every once and awhile. I
however apologize again if I was simply detracting.

~~~
__s
I stand by your stand by. Negative karma isn't a crime once in awhile (seems
you get a 2nd nit in this thread on wordisms: 'once and awhile' is 'once in
awhile')

~~~
dEnigma
I would even say that negative karma is _never_ a crime, or even a bad thing.
Just because an opinion isn't popular, doesn't mean one shouldn't voice it.
(As long as it's not against the community guidelines or an _actual crime_ )

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ajkjk
This led me to
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia#Biologica...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia#Biological_measures),
which is fascinating: it turns out that Australia has been trying to eradicate
rabbits with viruses for decades. Surprising, I guess, because of how scary
the same thing for humans would be.

~~~
raverbashing
Funny how Australia's own wildlife hasn't taken care of the Rabbits

Reproduction beats predators apparently

~~~
ravitation
Australia actually lacks large inland predators.

Because of this rabbits actually support invasive predators as well (foxes,
cats, etc...)

The only real "native" predator it has is the dingo, but those too were
introduced by humans (only they were introduced thousands of years ago so
they've been naturalized to the environment).

~~~
sandworm101
>> ...were introduced by humans (only they were introduced thousands of years
ago...

That is a systemic problem in conservation: where in the timeline do we say
that the "natural" state existed? In Australia and similar countries we place
that mark not at the point that humans arrived, but at the point white people
showed up. I live in the pacific northwest where we do the same. This practice
almost equates indigenous humans with animals, both being "natural" in that
the do not negatively impact "their" environment. The reality is that native
populations radically altered ecosystems, that any non-human state only ever
existed in deep history.

On long-inhabited island nations (Japan, UK Australia etc) the predator issue
is a big deal only because of human efforts. Each wiped out their large
predators long ago. Japan should have tigers and bears. The UK should have
wolf packs. Australia too should have its big predators, but they were wiped
out long before Europeans arrive. So we call that "natural". Something as
simple as setting a date is in reality a twisted conflation of race, religion
and political histories.

These would take care of the rabbits: [http://earthsky.org/earth/early-humans-
wiped-out-big-animals...](http://earthsky.org/earth/early-humans-wiped-out-
big-animals-in-australia)

~~~
SturgeonsLaw
> This practice almost equates indigenous humans with animals

I feel like you're introducing a racist element where there needn't be one.

The key factor to a species adapting to its environment is time, and the
timeframe that European colonisers have been in Australia, America and similar
nations is a tiny blip on an evolution scale timeline.

~~~
ravitation
Yeah, the racist element is certainly seeing something that is not there.
Drawing the line at invasive species or "naturalized" species is almost
entirely biological...

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ChuckMcM
Rabbits are a scourge in Queensland. When I bought my Akubra hat at the
Victoria market in Melbourne the vendor confidently told me it was the only
good use for a rabbit. (the hats are rabbit felt).

Does any agency offer a bounty on rabbits? For example in some lakes in
Colorado you can get a bounty for catching and killing non-native northern
pike[1]. Does Australia have a similar system in place? There is lots of data
about how much of a pest they are [2] but other than dogs and foxes I don't
see a bounty program. Trappers decimated the American west of Beaver because
they could sell the pelts, perhaps a market for rabbit pelts would be enough
incentive to encourage trappers?

[1] [http://www.gameandfishmag.com/conservation-
politics/20-north...](http://www.gameandfishmag.com/conservation-
politics/20-northern-pike-bounty-offered-at-colo-lake/)

[2] [http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-
and...](http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-
weeds/pest-animals/a-z-of-pest-animals/european-rabbit)

~~~
dmichulke
I recall the Brits offered a bounty on some venomous snake in India with the
effect that people bred those snakes for the £££

~~~
thaumasiotes
On the assumption that rabbits are difficult to breed, the bounty program
should be fine.

~~~
nrki
I gather you've never heard the term "breed like rabbits".

Rabbits can have up to 1,000 offspring in their life.

~~~
misnome
Thus, the point of the joke.

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xixi77
Have wild rabbits been mostly dealt with in Queensland? Because if not, it's
not obvious to me how a relatively tiny additional source of escaped/released
pet rabbits would make a difference?

~~~
jazoom
I've lived in Queensland my whole life and I've never seen a wild rabbit. I do
a lot of country driving now and I see wild hares at night, but I'm not sure
if they're a problem.

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PaulHoule
Too bad. Rabbits are the best small-scale meat animal.

~~~
Pxtl
Oof. No, farming them for meat means breeding them which practically
guarantees their escape into the wild as an invasive pest.

I could see the argument for keeping a fixed one as a pet because there's no
risk if a fixed one escapes... But even then, that would still create cottage
industry of breeding them, and that's bad.

~~~
limeblack
This doesn't pertain to Australia, but if you have served in the peace
corps(unless something has changed) rabbits used to be fairly popular animals
to give people in third world counties. It produces lots of offspring(if you
are lucky enough for them to breed) which is probably its biggest benefit.

~~~
ci5er
> if you are lucky enough for them to breed

Lucky? How do you stop them?

~~~
DonHopkins
Cut off their feet, that reduces their luck.

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smegel
Is it illegal to bring a dog into Australia unless you are Johnny Depp?

Answer: Australia has very strict bio-security laws.

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Pxtl
A shame. For vegetarians/vegans they're one of the few pets that can be nice,
social animals and don't have to eat meat. A pet would be fixed, so there's no
risk of escape into the wild... But pets have to be bred so the risk is still
there.

Maybe some system where rabbits could be certified as "imported fixed" and
tagged as such? So only intact animals could be legally imported?

~~~
beeforpork
For non-vegetarians, it is also a shame, because rabbits are really delicious.

This makes me wonder: I saw no exemption in that article of owning rabbits for
meat production, so does that mean that down under, there is no rabbit on any
restaurant's menu?

~~~
phillc73
Pretty sure I've eaten rabbit in a restaurant in Australia, but I am sure it
was wild rabbit.

I remember as a child in Australia eating a lot of rabbit. My father would
hunt them and Mum's speciality was curried rabbit. I used to love it.

They really are vermin in Australia. Ever time I see a rabbit in Europe I have
an almost visceral desire to kill it. Growing up in rural Australia I've seen
first hamd the damage they can do if left unchecked.

