Myxomatosis is a viral disease introduced to control wild rabbit populations that causes prolonged, distressing illness affecting millions of rabbits annually.
Wild rabbits dying from myxomatosis experience prolonged suffering including blindness, respiratory difficulty, and weakness lasting 10-14 days before death. The disease was deliberately introduced as a population control measure and its continued circulation causes suffering at large scale. There is no intervention available for wild rabbits except euthanasia of obviously suffering individuals found close enough to catch. Vaccination protects pet rabbits from this preventable suffering.