chilly weather.

Government believes the winter has killed some of the floppy-eared nuisances.

And it claims landscaping of the Walsingham-Blue Hole area has also destroyed many burrows.

The land is being prepared for a 40-acre national park.

Last summer worries mounted over an infestation of up to 200 semi-wild rabbits.

It was feared the fast-breeding pests would nibble crops and rare plants, including ferns.

At one stage, Government officers considered laying down traps or even shooting them.

But yesterday Mr. John Barnes, director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks, said the problem had died down.

"The winter has caused a lot of natural fatalities, although with the warmer weather the problem could return,'' he said, adding that landscaping and levelling had also probably wiped out burrows.