Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease saga update.

[Guest guest]

The New Zealand and Australian Governments have lost integrity in

allowing the use of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease as a biological control of

rabbits.

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On the second of July 1997 a New Zealand Government Media Release stated

" Ministry of Agriculture delegated Decision-maker, Dr Peter O'Hara, has

decided not to permit rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) to be imported into

New Zealand as a biological control agent for rabbits " .

 

The New Zealand authorities had considered over 800 submissions discussing

whether the deadly RCD hemorrhagic virus should be imported into New Zealand

to control wild rabbits.

 

The New Zealand Association of Scientists and the New Zealand Ministry of

Health

both submitted documents opposing the introduction of RCD (internationally

known as Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease or RHD ) into New Zealand.

 

On the 19th of August 1997 another NZ Government Media release stated that

the

" The Director-General of Agriculture, Bruce Ross, has decided that a full

review of the decision not to allow the importation of rabbit calicivirus

disease (RCD) into New Zealand as a rabbit control tool is unwarranted. "

 

The media statement also said " Professor Ross was subsequently asked by the

Applicant Group to formally review Dr O'Hara's decision. "

 

" I can find no evidence to suggest to me that Dr O'Hara's decision was

reached as the result of a wrongful analysis or interpretation of the

scientific information. His conclusions are consistent with those of the

expert reviewers, " Professor Ross concluded.

 

On the 26th of August 1997 a Media release stated " The Ministry of

Agriculture has confirmed that rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) has been

detected in dead rabbits taken from one property in the Cromwell area in the

South Island. "

 

The media release stated " It appears this disease has been deliberately and

illegally introduced by people wanting to use it as a biocontrol tool, " MAF

Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Barry O'Neil said. " This is an incredibly

irresponsible thing to do, particularly given that in these circumstances

there are no guarantees that what has been released is a pure strain of the

virus. There is a risk, however small, that it could be contaminated with

other diseases which could pose a threat to animals other than rabbits. "

 

Subsequently, a unsuccessful effort was made by New Zealand authorities to

stop the spread

of RHD in New Zealand.

 

Meanwhile some New Zealand farmers blatantly said on radio programs that

they were mixing up brews of the deadly RHD virus taken from dead rabbits

in their kitchen blenders and spreading the disease on carrots.

 

The New Zealand Government capitulated and changed legislation to allow the

spread of RHD in New Zealand.

 

A recent January 2002 NZ Press Association article stated " The hunt for the

importers of rabbit haemorraghic disease (RHD) is over. Ministry of

Agriculture and Forestry enforcement unit manager Jockey Jensen said MAF had

been unable to determine who had imported the rabbit killing disease in 1997

or how they did it. The time limit for laying charges had lapsed, prompting

the decision to end the investigation. "

 

The article also says " A 1997 application to MAF by several South Island

local authorities and farmer groups to import RHD was declined, but in

August of that year the discovery of thousands of dead rabbits on a Cromwell

farm revealed the rabbit-killing virus had been illegally imported and

released. By the time officials got to grips with the scope of the release,

it was beyond control. A story of secret deals and midnight meetings in the

South Island was later revealed - with a group of Mackenzie Basin farmers

admitting spreading the virus. "

 

It is an indictment on the New Zealand authorities that no-one was ever

charged with

illegally importing RHD into New Zealand against the wishes of New Zealand

authorities who had stated " The {RCD}virus will continue to be classified

as an unwanted organism in terms of the Biosecurity Act 1993 " in the July

second MAF Media release.

 

Conspiracy theories abound as to the possible involvement of Australian

officials in

supplying RHD to New Zealand in an effort to encourage NZ to follow in

Australia’s

footsteps in adopting the RHD as a biocontrol agent.

 

Australian authorities had portrayed Rabbit Hemorrhagic disease as only

being infectious to rabbits yet no proper tests have ever confirmed this to

be true and primates have not been infected with large doses of the disease

as far as we are aware.

 

At the time of the escape of RHD from Wardang Island in 1995, four out of

five of the main

Calicivirus groups were known to infect humans.

 

In Australia RHD escaped containment from Wardang Island open air

experiments and thus

escaped a public consultation process that may have prevented the

legalisation and spread of the RHD disease in Australia.

 

International scientific opinion opposed the deliberate spread of RHD in New

Zealand.

 

Now Australian authorities are considering the use of RHD food baits to kill

wild rabbits even though no guarantees can be given Rabbit Hemorrhagic

Disease will

not cause illness in humans or other animal species.

 

Animals Australia has criticised Environment Australia's approval of the

proposed use of RHD

baits in Australia.

 

The original Australian RCD/RHD monitoring program has been disbanded.

 

A recent lengthy FOI appeal revealed the Australian National Registration

Authority employed an anonymous scientific reviewer to review Scientific

arguments presented by the applicant group attempting to legalise the RHD

baits.

 

The reviewer was revealed to be Professor Michael Studdert of Melbourne

University and his previous writings in the Australian Veterinary Journal

implied bias in favour of the potential of RHD as a biocide of rabbits.

 

In fact Professor Studdert had written " The gene(s) responsible for the

massive destruction of hepatocytes and for triggering DIC should be

identified because these gene(s) could be spliced into the genome of

Myxomatosis virus to enhance its effectiveness in the control of rabbits. It

will also be important to define the effects of both myxomatosis virus and

RHDV when both are present. Since their pathogens are quite distinct and

independent it may be expected that they will act synergistically. A

two-virus means of biological control should be more effective than a single

virus not least because of reduced opportunities for virus-resistant rabbits

to emerge. "

 

A scientist involved in promoting RHD as a biocontrol in Australia was Dr

Brian Cooke. He was recently awarded a Eureka prize for his efforts.

 

Another scientist involved in the RHD program took up a position on Ames,

Iowa,

where coincidentally, the USA reported its first outbreak ever of RHD in

March 2000..

 

Dr Keith Murray was deputy head of the CSIRO Animal Health laboratory at the

time of the RHD outbreak in Australia. In 1998, CSIRO reported he was to

take up a a senior position with NASC in Ames, Iowa. He is now Director of

the main National Animal Disease Centre in Iowa. Dr Murray criticised other

scientists who spoke out about the dangers of deliberately spreading RHD in

Australia.

 

And what about the rabbits? Rabbit numbers are said to be bouncing back in

parts of New Zealand and Myxomatosis seems to still be more effective in

killing rabbits in most parts of Australia.

 

Most countries in the world are trying to eliminate RHD disease and many

people are still appalled at the deliberate spread of RHD in Australia and

New Zealand.

 

End

 

References

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RCD and the rule of law

Yvonne van Roy, Victoria University Wellington finds cause for concern in

the handling of the RCD crisis

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/yvehtm.htm

 

RCD linked to deformities in rabbits (NZ)

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/rcddef.htm

 

RCD virus for sale at $150 a bottle

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/bottle.htm

 

RCD NZ Government press releases archive

http://www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/press/archive/rcdmedia.htm

 

Australian Government RCD press releases archive

http://www.csiro.au/communication/rabbits/rabbits.htm

 

The Eureka prize for Environmental research - Eureka prizes 2000.

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/eurekas.htm

 

Animals Australia critique of the

Environment Australia report on the RCD baits.

http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/eacrit.htm