Rabbit hemorrhagic disease has caused enormous wildlife welfare harm in wild rabbit populations across Europe and Australia.
Rabbits dying from RHDV experience rapid hepatic failure, internal hemorrhage, and neurological symptoms over 24-72 hours. The speed of death is relatively fast compared to some wildlife diseases but the scale of mortality events affects thousands to millions of animals simultaneously. Wild population collapse has cascading effects on predators that depend on rabbits as prey. Conservation impacts compound the direct welfare harm.