CLIMATE change could spread a lethal plague that would wreak havoc among
Britain’s rabbit population. The disease is already common in southern
Europe.
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) was first recognised in China in 1984,
after arriving in imported German angoras. It then wiped out 140 million
domestic rabbits in China. The virus probably originated in Central Europe and
spread across the continent.
Italy lost 64 million farmed rabbits to the virus in 1986, while Spain now
imports wild rabbits to provide targets for hunters. In 1995, the virus was let
loose—probably deliberately—in Australia and New Zealand, where
rabbits…
