Liverfluke

Our company earns the bulk of its money from controlling rabbits in England and we gut and clean hundreds of rabbits each year that we have shot with a rifle. The white spots are from liverfluke caused by Myxomatosis. Myxomatosis was first discovered in a laboratory population of rabbits in South America in 1896 and was successfully released in to Australia in 1950, followed by its introduction into England in 1953 to control rabbits. It is carried by rabbit fleas and attacks the liver and eyes which almost pop out of the rabbits head before it dies. As the rabbit is blind it cannot eat well and suffers a great deal of weight loss. 98% of all rabbits in the 50's and 60's died. We still have the disease in England but it only seems to effect us every 3/4 years and the survivors are immune. The white spots on the liver seems to be on every rabbit with Myxomatosis and while there is no evidence of humans capturing it as we do not eat them. There is no sign of it in foxes, stoats and birds of prey. While our wild rabbit population is not as high as in Australia our numbers are increasing every year and we have 6 men shooting, trapping, and gassing rabbits all the year round to prevent damage to farmers crops and young tree plantations in the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire areas.

Regards, John Austerfield, Greenacres Vermin Control

We don't eat rabbits with Myxomatosis even though we have been told it is harmless to humans. They don't release the Myxomatosis fleas here in Australia anymore, they now use a virus as it is a more humane way to deal with rabbits that are considered vermin, (Myxy, as we call it, is a horrendous way for rabbits to die). I'm not sure if rabbits can be immunized against Myxy as it is carried by a flea, but they can be immunized against the virus.

Offered by Jan.