Rabbit Attack

I was out again in the garden yesterday when I found the below damage to my fruit trees.

It looks as though rabbits have decided to take a few chunks of bark out of my apple trees!  Well, I suppose I can't blame them, new young fruit trees would be a tasty adition to the diet.

I am very worried right now.  As I understand it, rabbits can 'ring bark' a tree like this and kill it.  Although the bites don't look to be deep, it does hinder the way sap and nutrients flow through the tree.

After a quick check around the perimeter of the house site, I only found the apple trees to be effected.  So it seems that they have a taste for apple trees only at this stage.

The only expectation I had for my fruit trees this year, was to survive ... hopefully they still can.