Bernard Fennessy Memorial Lecture: Dr Peter Kerr ‘Rabbit Control: past, present and future’ NOTE CHANGED DATE

Australia has been blighted by rabbits ever since their introduction here. Peter, follower in the work of the late Bernard Fennessy, discusses control research and methods of the past, the concerns about the current resurgence as the pest develops immunity to the calicivirus, and what the future holds.

Dr Peter Kerr graduated in veterinary science from the University of Melbourne and worked in rural practice and agribusiness before undertaking graduate studies in molecular virology at ANU. He joined CSIRO in 1990 and spent the next 15 years working on Myxoma virus and the European rabbit, including research into recombinant Myxoma viruses as potential fertility control agents for rabbits. More recently, he has been working with colleagues in the USA and at the ANU on the molecular basis of the evolution of Myxoma virus in Australia and Europe. He is currently Research Scientist at CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences and Adjunct Fellow at the ANU.