Yesterdays walk

We took the dogs on a lovely walk around the village and through the little woodland nearby yesterday    
The dog walks around here are great   and they both came back totally shattered  

On the way back we were walking along the path when we spotted a rabbit    luckily the dogs hadnt spotted it so we walked them on the short lead past it  
It was just sat there on the edge of the path totally still with its eyes closed     
There must have been something wrong with it because it made no attempt to move even although we walked within a few feet of it with the dogs
To make things even weirder    neither of the dogs even noticed it     Mickey normally smells small furries from a mile away   
   I have no idea what was wrong with it but hopefully it moved before some offlead dog got it   

Has anybody ever come across a rabbit like that before  

 

wonder if you can get retarded rabbits   I suppose the animal kingdom is no different to us humans, it takes all sorts   maybe it can't smell well or needs glasses   

If you see one again, avoid it, it may be a suicide wabbit   

Was it real ?? Just a thought   

It was definately real    we could see it breathing

I wonder if it was in shock    i think    they say rabbits freeze when they are shocked thats why they get run over alot

   Maybe it saw Mickey coming and went into shock     

It was very strange   

It will have Miximatosis Bren ... We came across some when they made the new walk in chaddesden ...so sad
Years ago we were on a bike ride and we came across one that's eyes were bulging and it didn't look good, just sitting there on the path, so my dad broke its neck I was mortified when I was a child, but looking back he did it a favour
It's a horrible man made disease made to kill rabbits off

  Ive heard of it but had no idea it was man made   

How bloody cruel is that     its disgusting   

Found this little bit of info ~

Controversially, myxomatosis was 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 (He inoculated two of the rabbits on his land).[4] 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, being illegally imported onto an estate in West Sussex[citation needed]. Some[who?] in the UK deliberately spread the disease, placing sick rabbits in burrows, while many others[who?] objected on animal welfare grounds. Deliberate spreading of the disease was never illegal. By 1955, about 95% of rabbits in the UK were dead. Some shooters specifically target infected rabbits, viewing the act as being merciful. In 2005 the UK Land Registry conducted a survey of 16,000 hectares of its land and reported that the rabbit population had increased three-fold every two years – likely a product of increasing genetic resistance to the virus.

Bloody french     

Shame Dr. Paul Armand Delille didnt give himself a dose of it   cruel bastard   

Yep horrible man!!!

When I lived in rocester many years ago there used to be a field absolutely full of rabbits on JCBS land..Nicole loved watching them as a child... Many years later they disappeared.... Not one was left and still to this day as far as I know it's still the same..... Apparently mr bamford had introduced Miximatosis onto his land to kill off the rabbits

Its a horrid thing i remember when Marc was really wee and i had Tara we went up to the Queens Park a lot and there was a crow diving at the ground and i seen this wee rabbit trying to hop away i went and managed to catch it, had Marc in the buggy, Tara with me found some workmen and asked for a box, brought the rabbit home and phoned the SSPCA they came and collected it and phoned me later told me it was miximatosis and they had to put it to sleep i was gutted. Was also the first time i had ever heard of it.   

It's horrible to see ... Dogs and humans can still eat rabbits with the disease though and it wouldn't affect us

Why cant man just leave nature to take care of itself