Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. It important for the House to be aware of the potentially devastating impact of rabbit haemorrhagic disease. When this disease was first reported in domestic farmed rabbits in China in 1984, it killed millions of animals within one year of its discovery. A new and more virulent strain of this virus, known as RHD2, emerged in France in 2010. It causes death within a few days of infection. Sick animals with RHD2 sometimes exhibit partial paralysis and bleeding from the eyes and mouth. On other occasions, they show no external symptoms whatsoever. Most distressingly, animals that are close to death in the latter stages of the disease often exhibit unusual behaviour, such as emerging from cover into the open and convulsing or fitting before dying. The virus has been detected throughout Europe in wild rabbits and hares. The Irish hare is native to Ireland and is found nowhere else. If this disease proves to be as infectious and lethal in Ireland as it has been elsewhere in Europe, the impact on the hare will be catastrophic.

As the Deputies mentioned, RHD2 has been seen in wild rabbits in the UK for a few years. Brown hares in the UK have also been hit with RHD2. Mortality rates in some areas saw up to 70% of brown hares wiped out completely. RHD2 was first confirmed in the wild here last August, which is not that long ago. The first two records came from rabbits - one in County Wicklow and the other in County Clare. As the Deputies are aware, I issued the licence on 1 August and I had to suspend it on 9 August. The first positive report from an Irish hare came on 9 August and related to an animal that was found dying in the Wexford Slobs. Since these initial incidents, a request for public involvement has led to more than 50 reports of dead rabbits and hares around the country. Each report has been followed up by local NPWS rangers. From these incidents, the disease has now been confirmed from counties Cork, Clare, Leitrim, Offaly, Wicklow and Wexford. There is no rhyme or reason for this distribution. I have simply listed the locations where these animals were found. They could have been found in any county. There is no cure for the virus. Although pet rabbits can be vaccinated against the disease, it has not yet been tested on hares.

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