weasle 1,119 Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 A Couple of summers ago i had a local place were if i needed to get the dogs exercised and home in a hurry,this is were i would take them.3 fields and it would move with rabbits,i couldnt wait for the season to start and lamp them.Then one september morning with the promise of a wind,and new moon,I went for a quick walk around the fields to check there was no stock out,there wasnt.Great the dog was fit now,i was in for good sport tonight,Only thing was last week i had walked these fields, and they moved this morning not one rabbit out,still no sighn of mixy,warrens all still open.That night(And since) not one rabbit was seen.My only conclusion was VHD.As it was brought up on another topic i thought i would do a little research heres the bullit points of what i found: Even though the virus cannot reproduce in other mammals, it is believed that predators and scavengers such as foxes, ferrets and some birds can excrete the virus through their faeces after ingesting an infected rabbit carcass. Flies, rabbit fleas, and mosquitoes can also spread the virus between rabbits VHD is caused by a calicivirus and has an incubation period of just one to three days. The virus itself is very stable in the environment and can survive for up to 105 days .After the safety of RHD was confirmed by laboratory research, RHD was approved for release as a biological control agent in New Zealand. RHD is safe because it infects rabbits, but not other animals or humans. It is also safe to eat the meat of infected RHD rabbits.[citation needed] Virus mutation is not a concern; many years of research show no evidence that the virus has changed to affect any other species other than European rabbit. RHD first appeared in 1984 in the People's Republic of China.The first case in the uk was 1992. The disease can wipe out up to 100%of the population.Death occurs within 30 hours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poacher3161 1,766 Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 Cheers for the info it exsplains the low number of rabbits even on council owned land were any hunting is prohibited. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The one 8,401 Posted October 16, 2010 Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 Sure i read that with rhd the rabbit bleeds from the nose and is dead in 4 hours and its a hot viris it can be carried on boots,clothes etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weasle 1,119 Posted October 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2010 Sure i read that with rhd the rabbit bleeds from the nose and is dead in 4 hours and its a hot viris it can be carried on boots,clothes etc. all true Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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