5 November 2008
The Robben Island rabbit cull could start in earnest on Thursday evening.
This is when the first full capture attempt is likely to be made, after trial runs to see how the rabbits react to baited traps.
This was explained on Tuesday by Shaun Davis, the Robben Island Museum's senior manager of heritage resources, who will be leading the project, which is under the overall management of interim chief executive Seelan Naidoo.
Davis said most of the equipment necessary for the cull, that could involve as many as 10 000 rabbits, had gone out to the island on Tuesday.
on Wednesday they would assemble the traps and bait the spaces where they would be placed.
The areas identified for the first trapping included the harbour and historical prison area, which will not be accessible during normal operations.
From here, the traps will be moved to other areas such as the limestone quarry, other large open spaces and the most densely invaded areas.
Davis said he expected the first "trapping event" to be done on Thursday evening.
The advance party of the SPCA, which is assisting and monitoring, will be on the island by then.
Cape of Good Hope branch chief executive Allan Perrins said the first five staff - two inspectors, two animal welfare assistants and one animal care assistant - would go to the island at 11am on Thursday.
They would remain until Saturday and would work under the direct supervision of a vet.
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