It is not affected by drought Catalonia after a particularly “dry” winter, the only “headache” of Spanish farmers. Now they have to deal with plague of hungry rabbits who, in the absence of grass and water, turn to their crops.

“Many factors contributed to the explosion of the rabbit population: there was a pandemic, so no one hunted for two years. They have developed immunity to myxomatosis. And females can give birth to 7-8 rabbits every two months,” explains Alex Fois, owner of vineyards near the village of Verdu.

According to the Catalan government, more than 250,000 rabbits need to be killed by September to contain their population. Something, however, is beyond the capabilities of the region’s endangered older hunters.

In an effort to reduce their numbers, the government has authorized the use of aluminum phosphate, which releases toxic phosphine gas when released into their burrows.

“If it doesn’t rain in April and we live another year like last year, the vines won’t survive“, says Juan Saponda, a member of Ragesos o conills (Farmers or Rabbits), which grows cereals, grapes, olives and chickpeas near Verdu.

In Catalonia, water reserves in reservoirs decreased by 26%.

In late February, the local government agreed on a series of measures to combat the crisis, including reducing

• 40% of water intended for agriculture
• by 15% for industrial use and
• average daily allowance per inhabitant from 250 liters to 230 liters.

There is also a ban on the use of drinking water for irrigating parks and gardens or for street cleaning, and there are plans to increase the amount of recycled water that can be dumped into rivers.

Source: Guardian