In the east of
Montpellier, a rabbit plague is driving winemakers to ruin. A representative of the agricultural chamber estimates the economic damage over the past five years at about one million euros per year. This is reported by the specialist magazine Vitisphere.
The affected animals are a species resistant to rabbit hemorrhagic disease Myxomatosis and presumably originated from crossbreeding with a Spanish population. They destroy thousands of hectares of agricultural land, especially fruit plantations. However, vineyards are also affected: The rabbits gnaw the bark of the vine stocks until the sap flow is interrupted – the plants die within three years. Many parcels have already become unproductive and have been abandoned by the winemakers.
Although in the
Hérault region, the year-round setting of traps is now allowed, the hunting season has been extended, and ferrets can be used, it is not possible to control the population. "Even if the hunters shoot 40 rabbits a day, it doesn't help," says an affected winemaker. Protecting the vineyards is expensive and labor-intensive: nets, sturdy protective covers, or deeply buried fences incur high costs and additional labor. For wines from the Pays d’Oc, this is not financially viable.
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Milestone in the fight against fruit and cherry vinegar flies
Chilean wineries withdraw from Casablanca Valley.
