why were rabbits introduced to australia

Rabbits were introduced to Australia in 1859 primarily for hunting sport. Thomas Austin, a settler, released a shipment of 24 European wild rabbits on his estate in Victoria so they could be hunted. This introduction led to a rapid and widespread invasion, with rabbits spreading across the continent at a rate of 100 kilometers per year, creating what became known as the "rabbit plague." Earlier introductions of domestic rabbits occurred with the First Fleet in 1788 mainly for food, but those populations did not become invasive. The 1859 batch of wild rabbits from England was better adapted to local conditions, allowing the population to explode and spread widely, causing significant ecological damage to Australia's indigenous flora and fauna. This particular introduction is genetically traced back to rabbits from the southwest of England, and despite many other introductions, it was this single event that triggered the massive population growth of feral rabbits in Australia.