Oral anti-fertility vaccine for population control of invasive rabbits (2026-2030)
Abstract
Rabbits are the most serious invasive pest animal in Australia, they are a major threat to native species extinction, they cause significant environmental damage, they are responsible for large food production losses which impacts food security, and they have an annual economic cost in excess over $200M. This project aims to develop the first oral vaccines that suppress fertility in rabbits and enable responsible and ethical landscape population control. Expected outcomes of this project include the creation of commercially attractive oral immunization platform that will open the door for the development of strategies for mass fertility control of pest and feral animals via oral (bait) vaccination.
