of a rabbit population explosion there.

Garage boss Mr. Stephen DeSilva said yesterday he found two more pet rabbits in the area.

The discovery comes just days after Government officers warned farmers about an increasing number of the fast-breeding creatures.

At least 100 semi-wild rabbits are believed to be in the Walsingham-Blue Hole area of Hamilton Parish.

It is feared they will destroy crops and vegetables -- and could spread throughout the Island without immediate action.

Chief Conservation Officer Mr. David Wingate claimed the number of rabbits had reached "serious proportions''.

Moves are now being considered to control the potential pests, by laying traps or shooting.

Mr. DeSilva, one of the managers at the Causeway service station, said he was alerted to the two rabbits by a customer.

When he went to the scene the rabbits -- one white, the other black -- were running about near two carboard boxes.

"They were very tame, and I wondered about their chances in the wild,'' he said.

Mr. DeSilva, unable to catch the rabbits, reported his find to Government vet Dr. Neil Burnie.

Earlier this week, Dr. Burnie strongly urged people against dumping pets in the wild.

He called on them to contact the SPCA or, if applicable, Government's dog control division.

Three flea-ridden stray puppies, believed to have been dumped weeks ago, were discovered by a motorist at Collectors Hill in Smith's.

Smith's resident Mrs. Ann Evans rushed the German Shepherd puppies to a local vet, but one of them later died. The two others are expected to survive.

"I don't know how anyone could be so cruel,'' Mrs. Evans told The Royal Gazette yesterday.