Rabbits are an integral part of the ecosystem at South Walney Nature Reserve and their presence is actively encouraged.

Their grazing and burrowing helps to maintain the sand dunes by keeping vegetation down and keeping the sand moving throughout the system. Without them, the sand dunes would risk becoming overgrown and we could lose this valuable habitat.

This means that unlike many other places where they're considered a pest, at South Walney Nature Reserve the high numbers of rabbits are generally positive. Unfortunately, whenever rabbit populations become very high, they're very likely to suffer from an outbreak of myxomatosis.

This happens at South Walney and at every other location in the UK where there are large numbers of rabbits. Sadly, any efforts to eradicate this disease from the UK’s rabbits has not succeeded, and all that can be done when outbreaks occur is to wait for the outbreak to pass, in the knowledge that the rabbit population will be able to recover.

There is currently an outbreak of myxomatosis at South Walney Nature Reserve. There are signs in place, warning visitors as they enter the nature reserve.  Please be assured that the disease cannot be transmitted to humans and it doesn’t present a public health risk. However, we realise it's very distressing to see.

Our staff and volunteers are working hard to clear carcasses from public view but visitors should be aware that keeping the paths permanently clear is not possible, due to the sheer numbers of rabbits currently affected.

Management in this way is ongoing and although it won't help reduce the numbers of sick rabbits, it will hopefully allow visitors to have a better experience if they visit the nature reserve whilst the outbreak is ongoing.

For those who may be distressed by this site, we suggest you stay away from the nature reserve until the outbreak is over.

The myxomatosis outbreak is horrible but won’t last forever, and we'll let you know when it's over and the rabbits are healthy again.