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Myxomatosis

alfharris8alfharris8 Posts: 513
in Wildlife gardening
Does anyone know if there is a high level of Myxomatosis around at present please?
I know I curse the rabbits when the eat my plants but I wouldn't wish this awful disease on them. I like in SW England. 
Thank you. 
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Posts

  • mac12mac12 Posts: 209
    I'm a lot further up the country than you near Hull and I spend a lot of time on farms and although I see it I wouldn't say it's at a high level, if only seems to affect the odd rabbit 
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    Most of the rabbits round here have vanished, but we suspect rabbit haemorragic disease  rather than myxi. Our baby wild rabbit succumbed almost overnight despite never having been outside. They can be infected via feedstuff as well as direct contact but we didn't know that :'(
     Rabbits are recognised as important for maintaining certain habitats because of their selective feeding, but they are close to becoming an endangered species because of these 2 horrible diseases. I don't know the survival rate for myxi, it's apparently only 10% for RHD!
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Myxie has been largely replaced by rabbit haemorrhagic disease I believe. It's halved the rabbit population in the UK since 1995.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    wild edges said:
    Myxie has been largely replaced by rabbit haemorrhagic disease I believe. It's halved the rabbit population in the UK since 1995.

    Sadly, not only has it wiped out a large proportion of the rabbits in East Anglia, it's jumped to infect our beautiful Brown Hares   😢

    There's a lot of research happening at the University of East Anglia just up the road from here. 

    https://www.uea.ac.uk/news/-/article/first-confirmed-cases-of-rabbit-virus-found-in-uk-hares

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    pansyface said:
    Yes, I have supplied dead hares from round here to the university for their research. 😕
     :'( 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Myxomatosis by Spike Milligan

    A baby rabbit
    With eyes full of pus
    This is the work
    Of scientific us

  • alfharris8alfharris8 Posts: 513
    What sad but interesting information. 
    I thought it was myxomatosis as the eyes looked affected but hadn't even heard of the other disease.
    Thanks very much for your replies. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited December 2022
    If their eyes were affected it probably was myxie … it’s a slow and lingering death. At least those affected by rabbit haemorrhagic disease show few if any outward symptoms disease and die quite quickly, and many die below ground in the warren rather than in the open air (according to my info at least). 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Sorry for the long text, but this hit a nerve.
    The Myxie time seems to hit late October into November in the Midlands.
    There are two types of the haemorrhagic disease. The first brought in by Chinese frozen meat, and has been kept at bay by inoculations. The more recent type is much more deadly. Rabbit breeders are loosing 100% of uninoculated young, who die before being old enough to do this. Even some inoculated adults are dieing too. It is decimating the show rabbit world, to the point of some fanciers giving up. Some may think this a good thing, but this means that some varieties of rabbit are in danger of becoming extinct. It may come to the point that the fluffy pet rabbit becomes a thing of the past, a sad thought.
    The next thing is bird flu. Is this going to be the next fancy to perish, if it become rampant in all birds? Not only for pet owners, but more importantly in the food chain of everyone? 
    They ignored rabbit haemorrhage disease as unimportant,  and look at the cost, will they do the same for birds?
  • MikeOxgreenMikeOxgreen Posts: 812
    The Chinese are quite good at this kind of thing aren't they.
    Our wild rabbit population got hit hard by Mxy in Autumn last year, it's the foulest thing ever to do to a living creature. They started to come back this Spring and Summer, but I think RHDV has hit them now. As well as a neighbours 3 cats, they barely stand a chance.
    I never knew it was hitting pets and show rabbits too, that's terrible news.

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