Conservation and Invasive Alien Species: Violent Love 437 Conservation programmes for the control of IAS stem from anxieties about the effects of organisms that are introduced where they had not previously existed Globally, a range of methods is deployed for the management of IAS (Wittenberg and Cock 2001) These methods can range from the prevention of the spread of invasives to eradication Eradication more often than not involves techniques such as shooting, trapping, poisoning, burning, and the deliberate spread of disease These techniques are inherently violent and cause significant suffering Many of these management methods can, therefore, be described as abuse A Case Study: Rabbits in Australia Rabbits were first introduced to Australia in 1788, primarily as food animals They were released in the wild for hunting and sport in 1859, when the grazier Thomas Austin said ‘the introduction of a few rabbits could little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting’ (Department of Agriculture 2015) That touch of home turned out to be a two-handed grab, as rabbits spread all across Australia, feeding on native species of plants as well as agricultural crops Here too, the human influence was paramount: rabbit populations exploded as woods and scrublands were replaced by farms growing crops that suited the rabbits As European settlers sought to replicate their home environments in a new continent, rabbits made themselves comfortable as well Rabbits were soon reclassified as pests A Royal Commission was established in 1901 to assess the situation (Crawford 2015) Soon after, an infamous ‘rabbit-proof’ fence was built to keep rabbits out but seems to have failed in its purpose (Crawford 2015) Since then, individual farmers as well as the government of Australia have used innumerable means to kill rabbits and prevent new populations from arising—methods including shooting, poisoning, trapping, biological control through disease, and warren ripping The latter refers to the use of bulldozers to destroy rabbit warrens, essentially dismembering the trapped rabbits or burying them alive Ripping is a particularly violent technique, so much so that a handbook produced by the Invasive Animal Cooperative Research Centre suggests (Sharp 2012, p 2): It is more humane to perform ripping when rabbit numbers are at their lowest e.g., after drought, disease, warren fumigation or poison baiting or when they are not breeding This means that lower numbers of rabbits will be killed by this relatively inhumane technique