Myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease have caused catastrophic wild rabbit population collapses across Europe, with welfare and ecological consequences still playing out.
Myxomatosis causes prolonged suffering — infected rabbits become progressively blinded and debilitated over a 10 to 14 day period before death from bacterial pneumonia. This is not an acute disease but a protracted dying process. The ecological collapse following rabbit population crashes causes secondary welfare harms across the entire predator-prey community dependent on rabbits as prey. The original deliberate introduction of myxomatosis represents one of history largest intentional wildlife suffering events, and its legacy continues in ongoing viral disease dynamics.