Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
377. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to concerns related to the potential presence of RHDv2 infections in wild hares and domestic rabbits; if any research is ongoing at a Department level in this regard; if any other actions are being taken or proposed to address these concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49494/23]
View answerMy Department is aware of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease infection (RHD), caused by RHDv2 in rabbits and hares.
I can confirm that my Department has testing capabilities at the Department’s central veterinary laboratory at Backweston (Virology Division) for both of these pathogens. My Department does not have any on-going research in this area.
By way of passive surveillance, all wild rabbits and wild hares that are submitted to my Department’s Regional Veterinary Laboratories (RVLs) for post mortem by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and any farmed/domestic rabbits referred for post mortem in RVLs by private veterinary practitioners are screened for both strains of RHDv using Polymerase Chain Reaction tests in the Virology Laboratory at Backweston.
It is my understanding that all dead wild hares found by NPWS conservation rangers are submitted for post mortem and screening and that NPWS also submit a representative sample of any large scale mortality events in wild rabbits they encounter. The number of samples submitted is small (three submissions to date in 2023).
