Wildlife Disease, Epidemics, and Welfare

Disease outbreaks in wildlife cause individual animal suffering on a large scale — from rabbit haemorrhagic disease to chytrid fungus in amphibians — with management options ranging from vaccination to difficult triage decisions.

Key Facts

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus has killed millions of wild European rabbits across Australia, Europe, and the UK since the 1980s
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) chytrid fungus has caused the extinction or severe decline of over 200 amphibian species globally
Chronic wasting disease in North American deer is spreading and has no effective treatment or vaccine currently available
White-nose syndrome caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans fungus has killed over 6 million bats in North America since 2006
Wildlife vaccination programmes have been used effectively for rabies in foxes and plague in black-footed ferrets

Welfare Considerations

Wildlife disease welfare involves triage decisions at population scale — whether to intervene for individual suffering animals, how to prioritise limited veterinary resources, and how to balance welfare and conservation goals when populations are severely affected. For mass mortality events, field euthanasia of severely ill animals may be the most welfare-positive option. Disease prevention through habitat quality, reduced stress, and where feasible vaccination provides the most welfare-positive long-term approach.

What You Can Do

Support wildlife disease research including vaccine development for priority species facing epidemic threats
Report sick or dead wildlife through appropriate channels to contribute to disease surveillance data
Avoid transporting soil, water, or equipment between wetland sites to reduce chytrid fungus spread risk
Donate to organisations working on white-nose syndrome treatment and bat population recovery programmes