Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus outbreaks cause mass die-offs of wild and domestic rabbits, raising welfare concerns about the scale and nature of the suffering involved.
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease causes rapid, multi-organ failure characterized by fever, hemorrhaging, and neurological symptoms before death. The death of rabbits from this disease, while often rapid relative to other diseases, involves severe physiological distress. Mass die-offs eliminate entire local populations, including social groups and mother-offspring pairs. The cascading ecological effects of rabbit population collapse affect predators including hawks, eagles, foxes, and coyotes that depend on them as prey.