rabbits and mixy

[celticwar 1]

ive seen a few mixy rabbits at the side of the road not bin out yet this year shooting im in lincolnshire

seen few black rabbits and white where i normally shoot though been scouting ready for when i get my new gun

[Bullyhunt 0]

how long till mixy clears up from a shoot??

[.Joe 0]

i think i have read somewhere that there will be a new strain of mixxy released....

and i also think that i have read or been told that if a rabbit can last the first 7 - 14 days than it develops an immunity to the disease which is passed on in breeding... perhaps why there are so many without the disease aswell these days..

But at the same time, i dont do a lot of thinking, and have used the words "i think" twice so i would probably not bother reading this post!

[celticwar 1]

if every one trys stops new release of mixy surely the farmers will have problems with rabbits ..but will need more of us silent air gun hunters to help them

any one no oat about this new release .......

mixy horible death

[celticwar 1]

i thought they banned the use of mixy years ago ????????

if not we should ban it ...

[outshooting 0]

Hey Ho! Lots of country tales, and great fun a lot of them are...got to remember there is a lot of "in breeding" in some rural communities as well :friends: :crazy:

 

 

No inbreeding Deker, Just one big happy family unless you live on Bodmin Moor then you have to inbreed, its an old bylaw

[Deker 3,478]

Hey Ho! Lots of country tales, and great fun a lot of them are...got to remember there is a lot of "in breeding" in some rural communities as well :friends: :crazy:

 

 

No inbreeding Deker, Just one big happy family unless you live on Bodmin Moor then you have to inbreed, its an old bylaw

 

 

:11: Blimey...yep, forgot about your neighbours .....:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[IanB 0]

Mixy wasn't man made it was introduced, it originated in Uruguay..

 

Effects of the disease

In rabbits of the genus Sylvilagus (cottontail rabbits), myxomatosis only causes localized skin tumors, but the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is more severely affected.[1] At first, normally the disease is visible by lumps (myxomata) and puffiness around the head and genitals. It then may progress to acute conjunctivitis and possibly blindness; however, this also may be the first indication of the disease. The rabbits become listless, lose appetite, and develop a fever. Secondary bacterial infections occur in most cases which cause pneumonia and purulent inflammation of the lumps. In typical cases where the rabbit has no resistance, death takes an average of 13 days.[citation needed]

 

 

Spread of the disease

After its discovery in 1896 in imported rabbits in Uruguay, a relatively harmless strain spread quickly throughout the wild population in South America.

 

In Australia, the virus was first field-tested for population control in 1938. A full-scale release was performed in 1950. It was devastatingly effective, reducing the estimated rabbit population from 600 million to 100 million in two years. However, the rabbits remaining alive were those least affected by the disease. Genetic resistance to myxomatosis was observed soon after the first release and most rabbits acquired partial immunity in the first two decades. Resistance has been increasing slowly since the 1970s, and the disease now only kills about 50% of infected rabbits. In an attempt to increase that number, a second virus (rabbit calicivirus) was introduced into the rabbit population in 1996.

 

Myxomatosis was unintentionally introduced to France by the bacteriologist Dr. Paul Armand Delille, following his use of the virus to rid his private estate of rabbits in June 1952 (controversially, he inoculated two of the rabbits on his land). Within four months the virus had spread 50 km; Armand suspected this was due to poachers taking infected rabbits from his estate. By 1954, 90% of the wild rabbits in France were dead. The disease spread throughout Europe. It reached the UK in 1953, apparently without human action. Some in the UK deliberately spread the disease, placing sick rabbits in burrows, while many others deplored the cruelty and suffering. The government refused to legislate to make deliberate spread of the disease illegal. By 1955, about 95% of rabbits in the UK were dead. Rabbits suffering in the last stages of the disease, commonly called "mixy" or "myxie" rabbits, are still a common sight in the UK in 2007. Unfortunately, the disease affects more than the rabbits: the Spanish lynx among others is now almost extinct because the declining rabbit population, encompassing 90% of its diet, has caused mass starvation. It is not uncommon for shooters to specifically target infected rabbits, viewing the act as being merciful.

 

Myxomatosis is spread by fleas and mosquitos. Therefore, pet rabbits should be kept away from these pests.

 

 

Use of vaccine

A vaccine is available for pet rabbits, but is illegal in Australia because of fears that the immunity conferred by the vaccine could be transmitted through the wild rabbit population, because the vaccine uses a live virus, the Shope fibroma virus.

 

 

Natural resistance

The development of resistance to the disease seems to have taken different courses. In Australia, the virus initially killed rabbits very quickly, about 4 days after infection. This gives little time for the infection to spread. As a result of this, a less virulent form of the virus has become prevalent there, spreading more effectively by being less lethal. In Europe, rabbits which are genetically resistant to the original virus have spread. It is conjectured that this is because the main transmission vector in Australia is the mosquito, while in Europe it is the rabbit flea.

[celticwar 1]

thanks for the story of mixy i always was told it was man made .... found that intresting cheers dude

[ferret110 27]

Mixy is a natural disease from south America man just spread it look it up on the net

[poacherjim 0]

should start a new strain!!!! MUSLIMATOSIS TO GET RID OF THE OTHER VERMIN INFECTING THIS COUNTRY

[Baz86 0]

A little bit off topic but i was told Mixy was intoduced by man many years ago to try and control the rabbit population. Many years ago a keeper friend of mine reconned when you saw a black rabbbit you would get an outbreak of mixy.

 

hey mate,

 

as said before was deffo introduced by man in an attemp to control population... i dont think we can blame farmers in any way, things were different back then, and not much was known about the disease nor the affects it would have etc...at the end of the day were we not still recovering from war when mixy was introduced to try to secure food production supplys?

 

also i think the black rabbit bit may have something to do with domestic rabbits being introduced to mixy and then being released into the open yonder to help spread the desease?

 

baz

Edited February 23, 2008 by Baz86