FARMERS have threatened to withdraw from the fight against a new plague of rabbits in Victoria's northwest.
Mallee Landcare Group, the state's biggest in terms of area, failed to secure funding for a co-ordinator in a recent bailout offering for 60 other groups from the State Government.
Group president Faye Vallance warned the Mallee's volunteer efforts in ripping and fumigation on private land was at risk.
"Rabbit numbers are getting up fast around here, now that calicivirus is losing its sting," Mrs Vallance said.
"Without a co-ordinator the group cannot continue the good work done over many years."
The group, representing other Landcare groups in Ouyen, Nandaly, Walpeup-Underbool, Speed and Tempy, appears to be paying the price for stepping in to fund its own part-time co-ordinator after Federal Government support ended in 2009.
Mrs Vallance (pictured) said the group believed it was vital to maintain the war on rabbits to keep their numbers low after calicivirus made huge inroads into the Mallee plague.
With the Mallee group's annual meeting to be held in the next week, Mrs Vallance does not believe members will decide to continue going it alone.
The Victorian Government says the funding was only for facilitators across a number of "consortium" groups.
Mrs Vallance said local groups at Manangatang, Rainbow and Murrayville received funding late last year and those groups were in a similar position to the Mallee's.
The Mallee group wa lobbying federal and state politicians and had met Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh to push its claims.
A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Ryan Smith said the funding was left to run out under the previous Labor government.
"The Coalition has reinstated the program and recently called for applications for positions," he said.
