RABBIT
Oryctolagus
cunniculus
STATUS :
Widespread
and very common
Introduced by the Normans as a source of meat. Now widespread and common. The introduction of myxomatosis in the 1950s resulted in a significant decline, in Derbyshire and nationally. Since then, numbers have fluctuated with disease outbreaks and viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD). Rabbits occur in farmland, hedgerows, woodland, gardens and parks. They tend to avoid the high moors but sometimes occur on the moorland edge. Black specimens are noted regularly in the White Peak.
[Old local name: coney].
Species identification information
Photo EN/Debbie Worland
