It is called Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease. Texas saw some cases last year, early in 2020 but they were gone by May. It has returned and been spotted in domestic rabbits in Tom Greene County on the Edwards Plateau.
More recently is was found in a wild rabbit, a black-tailed jackrabbit in Cottle County in the Panhandle. Shaun Oldenberger with Texas Parks and Wildlife says "It's been quite some time, especially considering this is a highly contagious disease."
He says it's so contagious "the rabbit can die and the virus doesn't die with it. It remain on the landscape. That's why we're seeing it probably in 2021."
He says the issue is rabbits are an important part of the food chain. "When we see rabbits go away from the landscape, a lot of predators have to switch prey. That can have a cascading effect on the food chain. Other impacts can happen to other species."
He says if bobcats were taking rabbits and the rabbits go away, the bobcats may switch to bird nests or white tail deer fawns.
He says rabbit owners should watch out for any signs of illness.
He says it's virtually always fatal. "High probability of death, usually within 24 hours when they start exhibiting signs. That can be lots of different things from seizures to odd behavior, convulsing. Usually mortality occurs in 24 hours or less. It can spread across the landscape really fast and take out local populations quickly."
The disease only impacts rabbits.
He says do not touch or move dead rabbits. "This virus survives a long period of time, 90 to 120 days in a rabbit after mortality occurs, so we make sure those carcases are not moved across the landscape because that can spread the disease really quickly."
He asks anyone who sees a dead rabbit to report them to Texas Parks and Wildlife.