National Parks and Wildlife Service and Department of Agriculture to undertake four field studies on RHD2 virus and Irish hares.
2019/20 coursing licences to allow netting of hares outside areas with positive RHD2 tests
16 October 2019

The suspension of the annual license for the netting of hares for coursing is being lifted, allowing netting on a managed and restricted basis and only in areas unaffected by the Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD2) virus. At the same time, it has been agreed that a number of field studies at some coursing clubs, which will involve veterinary and virology expertise and input, will be carried out to supplement existing knowledge of the prevalence and nature of RHD2.

This follows the conclusion of discussions between the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Irish Coursing Club on a roadmap to allow a managed resumption of netting for testing and coursing in areas unaffected by the RHD2 virus, charting a responsible way forward in terms of the management and understanding of this virus.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) are to undertake four field studies with the co-operation of Irish Coursing Club. These field tests will allow greater understanding of the effect of the RHD2 virus on the Irish wild hare population.

Restrictions are also being lifted on the issue of licences to the Irish Coursing Club for netting of hares, permitting netting outside of areas where wild hares and rabbits have tested positive for the virus.

In August, following the first detection of RHD2 in an Irish wild hare, the Minister suspended the 2019/20 licences for the netting of hares for coursing meetings which had issued earlier. Since then the NPWS and DAFM have continued to test wild rabbit and hare carcasses to establish levels of the virus in Ireland. Of the 10 hares tested for RHD2 in this period, three have tested positive. These positive results were in Dublin and Wexford.

Given both the levels of RHD2 virus confirmed in the wild hare population to date and to increase the understanding of the levels of RHD2, the NPWS and DAFM are to undertake four field studies with the co-operation of the Irish Coursing Club in a number of locations. Sample populations of up to 100 wild hares will be captured and kept in pre-approved locations. The NPWS and DAFM will test the hares for RHD2 and observe them.

In the context of the renewed licences for netting hares, capture will be prohibited in areas from a 25km radius of where either wild hares or wild rabbits have tested positive for RHD2. Positive tests for RHD2 in wild rabbits and hares have been returned in the following counties: Clare, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Leitrim, Meath, Wexford, and Wicklow. Similar restrictions will operate when new positive tests for RHD2 are returned. There will be an agreed regime of spot checks for RHD2 in those coursing clubs that are being licenced.

Irish Coursing Club licences ban extended as deadly Rabbit and Hare disease spreads.

Public asked to be alert and report sightings of suspected cases

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD, has decided to maintain the suspension of the licences issued to the Irish Coursing Club to capture and tag hares for the 2019/20 hare coursing season.

The netting and collecting of hares for coursing meetings poses a significant risk factor to the spreading of the Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD2).  However, the decision to continue the suspension of licences will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD2) was first reported in the wild in Ireland in early August. Since then, the disease has been recorded in six counties – Cork, Clare, Leitrim, Offaly, Wicklow and Wexford. The  Irish hare is native to Ireland and found nowhere else and should this disease prove as infectious and lethal here as it has done elsewhere in Europe, the impact on the hare could be catastrophic.

Rabbit Haemorrhagic disease presents absolutely no threat to human health and it is entirely safe to handle infected or recently dead rabbits or hares provided normal hygiene is followed.

The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is renewing its request to the public to report any suspected cases.

While most of the confirmed reports to date have been in rabbits, the disease has also been recorded in Irish hares.

The virus is extremely resistant, remaining viable for up to two months in the environment. It can be passed on by direct contact, but also in faeces and urine. Infected carcasses can harbour infective virus for several months post mortem. The virus can also be transported on soil, shoes and on clothing as well as by insects. It can be killed, however, using suitable disinfectants (e.g. Virkon).

Biosecurity measures have been put in place at NPWS and OPW sites where the disease has been confirmed and NPWS Conservation Rangers continue to monitor the situation nationally.

The public – particularly landowners, farmers, vets and the hare coursing community – is being asked to be on high alert and to report any suspected sightings of diseased rabbits and hares as soon as possible to help efforts to monitor and control the disease.

This can be done by contacting the NPWS by Phone (1890 383 000) or Email (nature.conservation@chg.gov.ie.)

Press and Information Office

Roinn Cultúir, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta
Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Tel: 087 6737338 / (01) 631 3807 / 3909/ 3803 (direct)
Email: press.office@chg.gov.ie
Website: www.chg.gov.ie
Twitter: @DeptAHG

A disease fatal to rabbits and hares, but of no risk to humans, has been confirmed in the wild in Ireland for the first time. The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is asking the public to report any suspected cases.

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) was first reported in domestic (farmed) rabbits in China in 1984 killing millions of animals within one year of its discovery. By 1986 this viral disease had been found in continental Europe and has since spread globally leading to significant mortality in wild populations of rabbits.

In 2010, a new more virulent strain of this virus (RHD2) emerged in France. It causes death within a few days of infection with sick animals having swollen eyelids, partial paralysis and bleeding from the eyes and mouth. Most distressingly, in the latter states close to death, animals exhibit unusual behavior emerging from cover into the open and convulsing or fitting before dying.

The disease was reported in Ireland from domestic rabbits in 2018, but has now been confirmed in the wild from a rabbit in Co. Wicklow and another in Co. Clare. Today, the virus has been confirmed from a hare in Co. Wexford. In all cases individual animals were tested at Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine Laboratories where RHD2 was subsequently confirmed. While all three locations continue to support apparently healthy wild populations, unlike the situation in the UK where mass mortalities have been reported, NPWS Conservation Rangers continue to monitor the situation.

The virus has been detected throughout Europe, in wild rabbits, hares and seemingly unrelated species including voles and shrews. The Irish hare is native to Ireland and found nowhere else and should this disease prove as infectious and lethal here as it has done elsewhere in Europe, the impact on the hare could be catastrophic.

Dr. Ferdia Marnell of the NPWS Scientific Unit outlined his concerns: “Rabbits are central to wild ecosystems, being the main food for many predators from stoats to eagles that in turn regulate other animal populations. A decline in our wild rabbits will have numerous knock-on consequences. Of further concern is the potential for the disease to spread through the Irish hare population.”

The disease is highly contagious and can be spread directly between animals and in the faeces and urine of infected animals, as well as by insects and on human clothing. In addition the incubation period may last several days and apparently uninfected animals may in fact be carriers. Under these circumstances the catching of hares in nets, their transportation in boxes and the collection and holding of hares in confined areas can all be considered to increase the risk of disease spread.

Accordingly the Department has decided to suspend the licences issued to the Irish Coursing Club to capture and tag hares for the 2019/20 hare coursing season with immediate effect until a clearer understanding of the extent, spread and implications of the RHD2 virus emerges.

Dr. Marnell stressed “that the Rabbit Haemorrhagic disease presents absolutely no threat to human health and it is entirely safe to handle infected or recently dead rabbits or hares provided normal hygiene is followed”.

The public – particularly landowners, farmers, vets and the hare coursing community – is being asked to be on high alert and to report any suspected sightings of diseased rabbits and hares as soon as possible to help efforts to monitor and control the disease. This can be done by contacting the NPWS by Email (nature.conservation@chg.gov.ie.) or Phone (1890 383 000).

Dr Neil Reid, a Conservation Biologist at Queen’s University Belfast, who is also tracking the disease across the island warns of the significant impact this could have on the wild ecosystem.  He said “I am asking people to be on high alert, to report any suspected sightings of diseased rabbits and, particularly hares, as soon as possible so we can monitor this rapidly developing situation as it unfolds. This is an example of how citizen science can really contribute to conservation biology.”

Press Release issued by the Department of Culture, Heritage & Gaeltacht on Friday 9th August 2019