Table 2.

Examples of quotations used to illustrate the main themes and subthemes identified during the analysis of the texts. “Quotation reference” corresponds to the identifier used in Table 1

Theme	Quotation reference (see Table 1)	Quotation
Nature of rabbits	Q1	“…but a farmer from Les Garrigues reports that many of the rabbits he finds are not the autochthonous species in the area…”
	Q2	“The Unió (a farming association) has detected Internet publicity that offer the possibility of populating game estates with mountain rabbits in order to increase game availability, which is alarming because there is a (rabbit) plague…”
	Q3	“Australian rabbits don’t have anything to do with other rabbits. Their main characteristic is their bulging eyes and they are the best climbers. I have a friend who formerly bred them, and they climbed the metal fences (where they were kept)…. It’s a big problem for this village, where most (people) live off the land, either for cereal crops or for fruit trees…”
	Q4	“In its regional convention, ASAJA Cuenca (a farming organization) confirmed the serious damage caused to crops and infrastructures by hybrid rabbits”
	Q5	“… an environmental technician who works releasing rabbits for lynxes told me that they have discovered what is called a pest gene, which is nothing more than releasing domestic rabbits. It seems that releasing this type of rabbit, which produces more kittens and enters heat more readily, induces the reproduction of autochthonous wild rabbits in the area around the release site, meaning they breed more successfully than usual”
	Q6	“What do you think about the rabbit pest we have in our vineyards? The government doesn’t do anything to eradicate the famous American rabbit. There are people desperately watching how they (the rabbits) eat their crops day after day”
Differences between introduced and native rabbits	Q7	“…the origin of this pest is a rabbit hybrid that is bigger than those usually seen in the countryside”.
	Q8	“We identify them (the exotic rabbits) by their colours which differ from those of autochthonous rabbits”
	Q9	“…more experienced hunters are surprised about the number of rabbits and their diversity: there are greyish autochthonous rabbits with a fine coat, 1 kg, other brownish rabbits which are bigger, and a third, smaller species with a rough coat”
	Q10	“(introduced) rabbits have become immune to myxomatosis, a lethal disease that used to exterminated hundreds of animals in a few days”
	Q11	“…this species is considered a pest in the affected regions because of the voracity and high reproduction rate of these animals…”
	Q12	“this rabbit, which we find in the region of Valencia, is diurnal, thrives only in areas where it can dig warrens easily…”
The rabbit management conflict	Q13	“La Unió (a farming association) condemns the government’s passivity against the unstoppable rabbit pest…”
	Q14	“(the farmer) claimed that many of the rabbits he finds aren’t an autochthonous species in the area, and swears that he hasn’t been allowed to undergo tests and prove it”
	Q15	…”this is very easy…if they (the hunters) introduce a non-autochthonous species that devastates (crops), others introduce non-autochthonous species (referring to rabbit predators) that devastate rabbits and hares… Every day I see more foxes, especially dead foxes…they are left by hunters…”
	Q16	“The farmer, who doesn’t want to give his name or allow us to take photographs which may identify him, says: there’s no other option than breeding a family of ferrets to kill rabbits – this is only legal during the hunting season-… He uses snares and traps too”
	Q17	“Vela (a farming association representative) requested that hunters participate more in controlling the species… The (farming) sector demands, he added, greater control of rabbit restocking too, because they believe a variety of non-autochthonous species are responsible for the damage”
	Q18	“Sánchez-Seoane (a farming association secretary) highlighted another request; reform of the obsolete hunting law, as it ensures protection for rabbits that does not correspond to the current population surplus”
	Q19	“…The farming association has requested that the species be considered a pest in the affected regions, due to its voracity and high reproduction rate…”