A new strain of viral haemorrhagic disease is ravaging Portugal’s population of wild rabbits and has put at risk the 2014 release of Iberian lynx.
According to the Secretary of State for Nature Conservation, Miguel de Castro Neto, the first releases were due to go ahead in the first half of 2014 but if this now was to happen there is a serious risk that the lynx will not survive.
"In the Alentejo, for example, populations of wild rabbits have reduced by 80% this year due to the illness” according to wildlife expert Pedro Esteves from the University of Oporto who is leading the team that has identified the new DHV -V2 variant.
"This is quite different from known DHV viruses” explained Esteves, noting that "this virus kills younger rabbits, those under than two months old which did not happen with previous epidemics.”
The rabbit is 90% of the lynx diet but also is eaten by the wild cat and the eagle. The Iberian lynx is 'critically endangered' and is on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The researchers agree that early introduction would be foolhardy despite the government’s desire to see the animals released in to the wild next year.
"We should wait at least three or four years to allow the rabbit population to increase," advises Pedro Esteves. Carlos Fonseca also said there is a need to "rethink the whole process, the risk is great."
The Secretary of State thinks the release should go ahead as the wild rabbit population soon will recover.
