Johannesburg - Thousands of rabbits are in the firing line on Robben Island, the rocky island off Cape Town where South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18 years, authorities said Friday. Announcing a major cull of wildlife on the island, one of South Africa's top tourist attractions, Robben Island museum's acting CEO Henry Bredekamp warned Friday: "The island is heading for an environmental disaster."
SAPA news agency quoted Bredekamp as saying an estimated 25,000 rabbits were causing "absolute havoc" on the 3-kilometre-long, 1.9- kilometre-wide island by destroying vegetation and burrowing under buildings.
Beginning next month, the island's authorities will begin shooting rabbits, fallow deer and cats, he was quoted as saying. The museum was not available Friday to give further details.
Mandela, who was jailed for resisting white minority rule, spent 18 out of his total 27 years in prison on Robben Island prison before being released to lead South Africa's transition to democracy.
President Jacob Zuma spent a decade behind bars there, also for his political activities.
The island was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1999.
