{"id":3217,"date":"2026-07-08T08:03:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T08:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3217"},"modified":"2026-07-08T08:03:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T08:03:34","slug":"arizona-wildlife-officials-urge-action-from-hunters-to-slow-spread-of-rabbit-virus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3217","title":{"rendered":"Arizona wildlife officials urge action from hunters to slow spread of rabbit virus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Wildlife officials in Arizona are advising small game hunters to take action and clear their carcasses to slow the spread of an emerging virus. <\/p>\n

Read more Federal immigration agent fatally shoots man in Houston during enforcement operation<\/a><\/p>\n

The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) said the Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Type 2 (RHDV-2) is now being detected widespread in the state\u2019s wild rabbits after it was first observed in spring 2020.<\/p>\n

Meat from an exposed animal is safe for human consumption, officials said, but hunters are advised to remove carcasses from fields for proper disposal to slow the spread of RHDV-2. <\/p>\n

Officials say Arizona\u2019s native lagomorphs, which include cottontails and black-tailed and antelope jackrabbits, experienced large population declines after exposure to the virus in 2020 and 2021. <\/p>\n

AZGFD said the cottontail population has increased since the 2020 outbreak, but jackrabbit numbers remain under the pre-virus levels. <\/p>\n

RHDV-2 is highly contagious among these small game animals. It\u2019s spread through physical contact with bodily fluids, fecal matter or remains, AZGFD said. <\/p>\n

Read more Arizona Supreme Court sides with Maricopa County Recorder in election dispute<\/a><\/p>\n

The virus is not known to affect other animals, but it can be spread by predators or scavengers that eat infected carcasses, AZGFD officials said. <\/p>\n

Hunters in Arizona are allowed to hunt cottontails and jackrabbits all year long, while following daily limits and restrictions. <\/p>\n

Unusual wildlife deaths can be reported to AZGFD\u2019s Wildlife Health Program at cwd@AZGFD.gov and Radio Room at 623-236-7201.<\/p>\n

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Read more Lawsuit challenging Arizona transgender student-athlete ban dropped<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wildlife officials in Arizona are advising small game hunters to take action and clear their carcasses to slow the spread of an emerging virus. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nArizona wildlife officials urge action from hunters to slow spread of rabbit virus - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3217\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arizona wildlife officials urge action from hunters to slow spread of rabbit virus - 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