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The first cases of rabbit virus have been confirmed in hares in the UK, highlighting a new major threat to the rapidly shrinking hare population.
Two cases of fatal haemorrhagic disease of rabbit type 2 have been confirmed in Dorset and one in Esbad. It is therefore possible that this disease is already present in nature, but additional tests will be necessary to determine its spread.
The number of hares has dropped by about 80% in recent decades, largely because of changing farming practices and more intensive farming, which have affected their food supply and their habitat. Any new threat of disease would be a blow to what was once a staple of the countryside – hunted by some and harbaded by farmers, but beloved and occupying a special place in British folklore, from mad hare to crazy brown hare from the bestselling children's book Guess how much I love you.
Mountain hares are native to the UK and are now restricted to Scotland, but brown hares have been introduced, along with rabbits, and their number is estimated at around 800,000.
Suspicions that the virus, responsible for pulmonary hemorrhage and hepatitis, may have reached the hare population were raised in September, when the first sightings of sick and dying hares were reported. It is known that the rabbit virus has made the leap to the hare of Europe in countries such as Italy, France, Spain and Australia.
Brown hares are distinguished from rabbits by their larger size, longer hind legs and black-tipped ears. Photography: Richard Bowler / REX
Dr. Diana Bell, of the University of East Anglia, who led the research reported in the Vet Record, stated that it was too early to say whether the rabbit virus was the primary cause of the recent death of the hare because of other pathogens could be involved. .
Last year, reports suggested that myxomatosis also went from rabbit to hare. Over time, populations will probably develop some natural immunity, but with numbers already threatened by other factors, hare populations face a race against time.
Bell congratulated members of the public who reported sick and dead hares, which are still being collected for post mortem examination. "We are extremely grateful for the tremendous and ongoing response – it's a good example of citizen science," she said.
Members of the public who find dead hares are asked to report them for testing by sending an email to Bell. Hare are distinguished from rabbits by their larger size, their longer hind legs and their black-tipped ears, which are at least the length of their heads. Instead of burrowing like rabbits, they live under "forms", superficial scratches in the earth surrounded by undergrowth, making them more vulnerable to mechanized farming.
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