Unit 5 A delicate world
Macquarie Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When humans arrived on the island in 1810, they brought rats, mice, cats and rabbits on end. Subsequently, all of them were out of controland damaged the ecology on the island dramatically. Both rats and cats developed an appetite for native birds, making the birds endangered. Rabbits apparently multiplied and caused soil erosion. To remove the rabbits, a virus was released. But the decrease of the rabbits caused cats to eat more native birds. In the 1980s, a substantial number oftrapsand dogs were used to catch the cats. In comparisonwith the departure of the cats, the number of mice, rats and rabbits exploded once again, especially the rabbits, which developed an immunity to the virus. The island was in chaos altogether. Ioweit to ourselves to restore the island. So on behalf ofthe association I am here calling for the conservation of the biological diversity. But this intervention is a long, much-delayed ending to a sad story.