The material source
“Rabbit Rever” by Susan Orlean published in “New Yorker” in the “July 6 2020” edition
The article in 3 sentences
The author writes about how the rabbit, apparently domesticated for hundreds of years now, has been all of livestock, fur source and since mid century a third most popular choice of pet in the US. But a highly contagious and highly lethal “Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease” ( RHD the “rabbit Ebola”) caused by a lagovirus from the Caliciviridae family, has been wiping out populations of rabbits outside the US since 1984, but in mid 2019, dead rabbits fitting the RHD signs were showing up in the islands near Seattle and in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico not long after. A protective vaccine was developed within five years of the initial 1984 emergence, but because the production of a “live genetically modified vaccine” is not yet allowed in the US, the vaccine (and another vaccine for a subsequent “RHDV2” variant ) cannot be used here except by rare limited emergency requests allowed by the USDA.
Impressions
I didn’t know that the rabbit has been in such a complicated undefined state, never having been officially classified as “livestock” by the USDA, rabbits do not benefit from laws around humane treatment. And prior to World War II, rabbit meat was very popular in the US, because beef was more expensive. However, afterwards, domestic cattle production doubled and through its affordability, beef and also chicken overtook the rabbit. I had no clue. There is also an opinion expressed by the American Rabbit Breeders Association that the 1940 creation of Bugs Bunny contributed to the decline of the rabbit as a food item! The still growing pet rabbit owner enthusiasts in the US have been getting very nervous about RHD and they have successfully but very rarely seen some access to vaccines. However, the greater concern expressed in this article is that rabbits are actually a primary source of protein in America for “foxes, bobcats, wolves and hawks” and that apart from random cats and dogs (the article specifically mentions “poodles”), they will have no other source of protein available. And although the USDA has in a handful of some cases agreed to the purchase of these vaccines, unlike the rabbies vaccine which can be given with food, the RHD vaccines can only be injected and must be provided annually.