ABSTRACT
The rabbit is common in most countries of central and southern Europe. It came to Britain around the eleventh century with the Normans, and became an established pest in the nineteenth century.
Damage . The rabbit may consume 0.5 kg of plant food per day. Young turf and cereal crops are the worst affected, particularly winter varieties that, in the seedling stage, may be almost completely destroyed. Rabbits may move from cereal crops to horticultural holdings. Stems of top fruit may be ring barked by rabbits, particularly in early spring when other food is scarce. Vegetables and recently planted garden-border plants are a common target for the pest, and fi ne turf on golf courses may be damaged, thus allowing lawn weeds, e.g. yarrow, to become established.
