Once preliminary experiments were completed and the virulence of the Pasteurella culture was established, it was time to put Pasteur's proposed method of destroying rabbits to trial. The Rabbit Commission saw the purpose of the trial to assure them, with as much certainty as possible, that:

• the introduction of chicken cholera would represent no danger whatsoever to the native fauna as well as to domestic animals; and
• the disease was sufficiently contagious to spread among rabbits in such conditions as those existing in Australia.

Difficulties soon arose between the Rabbit Commission and the Pasteur Mission, the members of the latter maintaining that they had not been authorised to carry out any experiments other than those planned by Pasteur himself. They then asserted that they would not undertake the tests proposed by the Rabbit Commission. Yet, the experiments proposed by Pasteur did not aim at demonstrating the contagiousness of the Pasteurella organism, and the Commission thought them to be: 'so wanting in scientific accuracy with regard to the points requiring demonstration that they could not reasonably be held to justify [the Commission] in allowing full dissemination of fowl cholera in open country'. ^[1]

After completing their set of experiments, Adrien Loir and Dr Louis Germont left Rodd Island, but authorised the Rabbit Commission to take a culture from the heart blood of a dead rabbit. Further experiments carried out by Dr Katz on behalf of the Commission demonstrated that the transmission of the disease from infected animals on to healthy ones did not occur convincingly enough. Moreover, native birds were shown to be prone to infection.

On 3 April 1889, the Rabbit Commission issued a report rejecting Pasteur's proposition to use chicken cholera for the control of rabbits. The main reason for the rejection was that no evidence of sufficient contagiousness had been found. Eventually in December 1889, a final report was issued that rejected all claims for the prize.

Australia had to wait more than sixty years for the first successful rabbit biological control scheme: the introduction of myxomatosis.

^[1] Loir, Adrien, Pasteur's Vaccine of Anthrax in Australia: as a Preventative against Cumberland Disease in sheep, cattle and horses, published c.1891, Sydney, held in National Library of Australia, Canberra, p. 10.

Picture Reference
Loir, Adrien, Pasteur's Vaccine of Anthrax in Australia: as a preventative against Cumberland Disease in sheep, cattle and horses, published c.1891, Sydney, held in National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT.

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