Wednesday, September 07, 2022

Lethal rabbit disease 'strongly suspected' to be killing feral bunnies in Calgary communities


Stephanie Babych - Yesterday - Calgary Herald

As many feral bunnies are found dead in several Calgary neighbourhoods, concern is growing that a deadly disease known to wipe out rabbit populations is spreading in the city.



Pictured is a bunny 
HARE  in Lindsay Park outside the MNP Community
 and Sport Centre on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.© Provided by Calgary Herald

Amanda Greening, the co-founder of Against All Odds Rabbit Rescue, said in the last several days, they’ve received reports from people who have spotted quite a few dead bunnies in Manchester Industrial and Seton — which both have large populations of feral rabbits.

“Someone actually witnessed one die right in front of them,” said Greening. “It appeared to vomit blood, urinate and then die, which are common symptoms of rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD).”

The disease is extremely contagious and lethal for rabbits, spreading among bunnies through physical contact or through contact with an infected rabbit’s blood or excretions. The disease causes organ damage and internal bleeding.

Dr. Kelsey Chapman, with the Calgary Avian and Exotic Pet Clinic, said reports show that RHD has a 70 to 100 per cent fatality rate among bunnies.

“These are bunnies that have been let out then bred themselves in the city,” she Chapman. “The feral rabbit population is the most at risk because they’re all living together in tight quarters. And it could be transmitted on people’s shoes to indoor rabbits.”

Chapman explained that RHD is relatively new to Canada and has now been recorded in Edmonton and Lethbridge. Last year, a population of rabbits living in an Edmonton cemetery was wiped out by the disease . Alberta’s first case of RHD was detected in Taber in March 2021.

Related
Rabbit rescuers call on city to take humane action against growing Calgary colonies

Edmonton's syphilitic cemetery bunnies killed off by different rare rabbit disease

In May, there was the first official confirmation of RHD in an indoor, pet rabbit in Calgary, but the test results for several feral rabbits found dead in the city are still being processed so their cause of death remains unconfirmed.

Against All Odds Rabbit Rescue has been taking in and rescuing rabbits since 2012, while working to educate people about proper rabbit care. The group estimates the feral rabbit population could be as high as 500 between Manchester Industrial, Erlton and the Talisman Centre area, while Seton likely has about 200 to 300.


“If this is RHD, I would not be surprised if it wipes out 90 per cent or more of those populations,” said Greening.

She said businesses in these areas have told the group they’ve gone from seeing many rabbits throughout the day to none.

“If it is just the ferals, they are an invasive species — although, they are a food source for the coyote and bobcats. However, if this is a strain that affects native hares and cotton tails, the effects would be more severe,” Greening explained.



Pictured are bunnies 
HARES in Lindsay Park outside the MNP 
Community and Sport Centre on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.

Dr. Margo Pybus, the wildlife disease specialist with Alberta Environment and Parks, said they’re concerned about RHD spreading to the city’s wild rabbit population. Feral rabbits aren’t considered to be wildlife in the province so it’s not something Fish and Wildlife deals with directly.

“But we do track this virus because, although it hasn’t been reported yet in wild rabbits like snowshoe hares or jackrabbits in Alberta, we are watching to see whether it will or will not spill over from feral or pet rabbits to them,” said Pybus. “We’re hoping to avoid it getting out into wild populations.”

Pybus said it’s important for cases to be documented and to inform rabbit owners about the risks to their domestic bunnies. She said that it still isn’t confirmed the rabbits had RHD but it is strongly suspected.

“Outbreaks usually happen quickly and then disappear because most of the rabbits are killed. It doesn’t stick around or persist in the soil or anything, so that’s likely what is helping to protect the wildlife, like the snowshoe hares. The virus is so hot that it burns out quickly,” said Pybus.

The City of Calgary doesn’t currently have a policy on how to deal with feral rabbits and did not comment further about the situation when contacted by Postmedia on Tuesday.

sbabych@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BabychStephanie

BUNNIES ARE DOMESTICATED RABBITS, WILD RABBITS ARE KNOWN AS HARES

WILD HARES ARE NOT FERAL (WHICH IMPLIES DOMESTICATED BUNNIES RAN AWAY OR RELEASED FROM HUMAN CARE)

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