Rare virus wipes out all rabbits at Bay Area petting zoo

All of the rabbits at the Little Farm at Tilden Regional Park died last month after contracting a viral illness.

The farm’s seven Dutch rabbits fell ill and died after being infected with myxomatosis, Berkeleyside reported. Myxomatosis is a virus carried by bloodsucking insects such as mosquitoes and fleas, and can be spread by wild rabbits.

After a Little Farm rabbit named Jack Rabbit fell ill and was euthanized in early November, a biopsy confirmed that he had contracted the disease, Berkeleyside reported.

The other six rabbits were quarantined, but by the end of November, there were no longer any rabbits left at Little Farm. The few that hadn’t contracted the illness were euthanized as a protective measure, as their odds of exposure were high.

“It was really hard,” Jenna Cassel, a naturalist at the park, told the Mercury News. “When we lose any of the animals, it’s really heartbreaking. They have names. We get really attached to them.”

The strain of myxomatosis found in California is 99% fatal when contracted by domesticated rabbits, according to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Symptoms of the virus include lethargy and swelling of the eyes, both of which were observed in Jack Rabbit before he died.

Since the rabbits at Little Farm are kept in an outdoor enclosure, the virus may have spread to them through fleas or mosquitoes, according to the Mercury News. The East Bay Regional Park District did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment by publication time.

There is currently no treatment available to combat myxomatosis once a rabbit contracts it. Although a vaccine is available in the United Kingdom, it hasn’t yet become available in the United States.

The Little Farm opened in 1955 as a place for children and their families to learn about farm animals. It houses animals including cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens.

The farm plans to include new rabbits — and an updated enclosure system — after at least four months, according to the Mercury News.