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Victorian rabbit action program to receive prestigious UN award
Vivien Lin
The inclusive nature of an Agriculture Victoria initiative to manage rabbits is set to be recognised by a prestigious United Nations Public Service Award.
The Victorian Rabbit Action Network (VRAN) was founded in 2014 to provide an integrated and community-led approach to managing the European rabbit, one of Victoria’s most invasive species.
The program aims to provide a long-term commitment across government, community groups, generations and property boundaries.
“We recognised that actions taken in isolation were having a limited impact as rabbits know no boundaries, and the need for a partnership to approach the problem,” says Agriculture Victoria Program Manager Michael Reid. “This program brings together a diverse range of perspectives of people affected by the problem to ensure the issue is addressed collectively by working together.”
The VRAN acts as a facilitating institution that brings the community together and provides a forum for individuals to highlight their concerns. By building learning and mentoring networks and delivering workshops on best-practice rabbit control, the program facilitates information sharing and network development.
It also occasionally provides funding grants to support community learning, innovation and rabbit management.
“It is really important to empower the community so that people who provide the solution are involved in the decision making,” says VRAN Chair Gerald Leach. “They own the problem and the outcome.”
VRAN has reached out to approximately 6,000 people on both public and private land since its establishment.
“More than 80 percent of participants have made changes in the way they manage rabbits, and they are collaborating more across their boundaries with neighbours to control rabbits,” says Mr Reid.
The program has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) for bringing together a diverse range of perspectives from those affected by rabbits, ranging from land managers and farmers to scientists and government officials.
“It’s inspiring to see a strong partnership between government and community tackling such a complex issue that affects both our agriculture sector and the broader environment,” says Victorian Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes.
Mr Reid will travel to Azerbaijan to receive the UN award, which recognises programs that deliver “more inclusive and equitable services to leave no one behind”.
By the end of this year, the VRAN is expected to reach 10,000 people and Agriculture Victoria is now considering how the network’s shared decision-making and responsibility model can be applied to managing other invasive species across the state.
You can find out more about the VRAN’s current projects here.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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