Rabbit haemorrhagic disease caused by calicivirus causes mass mortality events in both wild and farmed rabbit populations with significant welfare implications.
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease causes an extraordinarily unpleasant death through internal haemorrhage, and mass mortality events in wild rabbit populations represent enormous welfare harm alongside conservation consequences. Wild rabbits dying from RHDV2 suffer a rapid but distressing end of life. Domestic rabbits without vaccination face the same fate when outbreaks occur in commercial or companion rabbit populations. Vaccination of domestic rabbits is the single most effective welfare intervention available. Wild rabbit welfare in the context of disease is essentially about reducing death rates through supporting healthy ecosystems and managing other threats that reduce population resilience.