4 ms·

This is a bad news, we dont understand ecology enough to toy with it with viruses. Killing and Trapping is a much safer choice, we never know what mutations the

This is a bad news, we dont understand ecology enough to toy with it with viruses. Killing and Trapping is a much safer choice, we never know what mutations the virus might acquire and become a larger threat to ecology and us. This is why capitalism could be bad when a Biosecurity company backs such attempts. I am surprised who suggests such ideas to the government.

chris_overseas 9y ago
Killing and trapping doesn't even scratch the surface of the problem, it is truly immense. Rabbits have no native predators in NZ and they breed like... well, rabbits. There has been huge amounts of debate, research and approaches taken to reducing their numbers, some more controversial than others (e.g. have a look at the ongoing debate around 1080 poisoning). The introduction of a virus is not something that is done lightly here. Bear in mind that NZ has one huge advantage compared to most countries here in that the only native land mammal is a bat, so there's not a big risk of the virus spreading across to other native species (this is the reason why 1080 is effective too as it generally only kills mammals). Note that the myxomatosis virus was introduced (illegally) by farmers to NZ in 1997 and it proved pretty effective at reducing the rabbit population for the next 10 years or so, until resistance built up.
quixoticelixer- 9y ago
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, killing and trapping, will not and do not work. It is all but impossible for the virus to mutate to infect a desired species.
- farseer 9y ago
  Are you telling us this particular virus cannot mutate? Because spreading it to a large population of target host species confined on an island would present plenty of opportunity for mutation.
  - quixoticelixer- 9y ago
    And to what animals would it mutate to?
  - eesmith 9y ago
    That would indeed be a silly claim as RHDV1 K5 is itself a strain - a mutation - of RHDV1. It was found in a rabbit farm in South Korea. The claim is that it is all but impossible for this strain to mutate to infect another species. Not that it's impossible for the strain to mutate. RHDV1 is already endemic in Europe and elsewhere. There are plenty of opportunities for that virus to mutate. None of the mutations affect anything other than the European rabbit.
    - pankajdoharey 9y ago
      I dont think it is a correct claim, the current form of HIV has mutated from a similar virus found in Guerillas. The first anti biotic was produced from cowpox boils. It is the same principle Other species can contract a mutated version of the virus, spreading it in such a large scale posits a threat because we dont understand ecology enough.
      - eesmith 9y ago
        "All but impossible" means "very nearly impossible", not "impossible." Certainly there are diseases which can cross the species barrier. Foot-and-mouth disease, quoting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-and-mouth_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-and-mouth_disease , can infect "cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs,[4][5] antelope, deer, and bison. It has also been known to infect hedgehogs and elephants;[3][6] llamas and alpacas may develop mild symptoms, but are resistant to the disease and do not pass it on to others of the same species.[3] In laboratory experiments, mice, rats, and chickens have been successfully infected by artificial means, but they are not believed to contract the disease under natural conditions.[3] Humans are very rarely infected." On the other hand, some diseases are species-specific. Smallpox and polio are two humans diseases which are not transmitted to other animals, which has helped us eradicate (or nearly so) those diseases. RHDV1 K5 appears to be in the latter category, in that it has not been seen to infect even other species of rabbit, much less more distantly related animals.

chris_overseas 9y ago

Killing and trapping doesn't even scratch the surface of the problem, it is truly immense. Rabbits have no native predators in NZ and they breed like... well, rabbits. There has been huge amounts of debate, research and approaches taken to reducing their numbers, some more controversial than others (e.g. have a look at the ongoing debate around 1080 poisoning). The introduction of a virus is not something that is done lightly here. Bear in mind that NZ has one huge advantage compared to most countries here in that the only native land mammal is a bat, so there's not a big risk of the virus spreading across to other native species (this is the reason why 1080 is effective too as it generally only kills mammals). Note that the myxomatosis virus was introduced (illegally) by farmers to NZ in 1997 and it proved pretty effective at reducing the rabbit population for the next 10 years or so, until resistance built up.

quixoticelixer- 9y ago

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, killing and trapping, will not and do not work. It is all but impossible for the virus to mutate to infect a desired species.

farseer 9y ago
Are you telling us this particular virus cannot mutate? Because spreading it to a large population of target host species confined on an island would present plenty of opportunity for mutation.
- quixoticelixer- 9y ago
  And to what animals would it mutate to?
- eesmith 9y ago
  That would indeed be a silly claim as RHDV1 K5 is itself a strain - a mutation - of RHDV1. It was found in a rabbit farm in South Korea. The claim is that it is all but impossible for this strain to mutate to infect another species. Not that it's impossible for the strain to mutate. RHDV1 is already endemic in Europe and elsewhere. There are plenty of opportunities for that virus to mutate. None of the mutations affect anything other than the European rabbit.
  - pankajdoharey 9y ago
    I dont think it is a correct claim, the current form of HIV has mutated from a similar virus found in Guerillas. The first anti biotic was produced from cowpox boils. It is the same principle Other species can contract a mutated version of the virus, spreading it in such a large scale posits a threat because we dont understand ecology enough.
    - eesmith 9y ago
      "All but impossible" means "very nearly impossible", not "impossible." Certainly there are diseases which can cross the species barrier. Foot-and-mouth disease, quoting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-and-mouth_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot-and-mouth_disease , can infect "cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs,[4][5] antelope, deer, and bison. It has also been known to infect hedgehogs and elephants;[3][6] llamas and alpacas may develop mild symptoms, but are resistant to the disease and do not pass it on to others of the same species.[3] In laboratory experiments, mice, rats, and chickens have been successfully infected by artificial means, but they are not believed to contract the disease under natural conditions.[3] Humans are very rarely infected." On the other hand, some diseases are species-specific. Smallpox and polio are two humans diseases which are not transmitted to other animals, which has helped us eradicate (or nearly so) those diseases. RHDV1 K5 appears to be in the latter category, in that it has not been seen to infect even other species of rabbit, much less more distantly related animals.