Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project — Rabbit, Rat & Mouse Removal (Australia)

The Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project (MIPEP) was a 2007-2014 programme led by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service with the Australian Antarctic Division, funded by Australian and Tasmanian governments (reported AUD 24-24.6 million, including a AUD 100,000 donation from WWF and Peregrine Adventures), to eradicate rabbits, rats and mice from the 12,785-hectare sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. It followed a poorly sequenced 1995-2000 feral cat eradication that let rabbit numbers explode, causing vegetation loss, slope erosion and landslides that killed hundreds of king penguins.

The project released RHDV calicivirus in February 2011, then conducted two aerial baiting rounds (250 tonnes of 0.002% brodifacoum cereal bait) completed by June 2011, followed by a 13-month ground-hunting phase using 12 handlers and 11 dogs. Eradication was declared successful in April 2014 after 2.5 years with no pest detections.

Vegetation biomass increased 5-10x by 2013 compared with 2011 levels. A 2024 government follow-up survey found dense tussock and megaherb regrowth on previously denuded slopes, reduced erosion, and albatrosses nesting on newly stabilised ground, with positive trends in grey and blue petrel numbers. However, aerial baiting killed an estimated 2,400-2,500 native birds (roughly 950-990 kelp gulls and 760 giant petrels), causing a documented 25-30% fall in giant petrel breeding numbers and around 50% at some monitored skua sites, with limited recovery signal in a mid-2010s follow-up study.