Sickness/Injuries | Ohkunoshima Rabbits

The rabbits face severe welfare challenges due to lack of veterinary care.

1. Physical Injuries & Trauma

Lacerations and Bite Wounds: Territorial fighting, particularly over food or territory, often leaves the rabbits with severe scratches, torn ears, and open wounds.

Missing Appendices: It is common to observe rabbits with missing eyes, limbs, or chunks of their ears missing.

Predator and Human Accidents: Crows and boars prey on rabbits, and fatal accidents by peopple are frequently reported.

2. Illness and Infection

Upper Respiratory Infections: Bacterial infections are widespread. Symptoms often include discharge from the eyes and nose, sneezing, and breathing difficulties.

Eye Infections: Many rabbits suffer from chronic eye infections or conjunctivitis, which can cause blindness.

Skin and Parasitic Mange: Unsanitary conditions and dirty water boxes lead to skin problems and mite infestations.

Torticollis (often called "wry neck" or head tilt) is not a symptom of a disrupted balance system primarily caused by inner andd middle ear infection, encephalitozoon cuniculi.

3. Dietary-Related Diseases

Gastrointestinal (GI) Stasis: Tourists frequently feed the rabbits inappropriate food (such as cabbage, human snacks, or incorrect pellets), which shuts down their digestive systems and leads to a painful death

Dehydration: Although there are some water bowls, many are filthy or dry, leading to severe dehydration during the summer months.

Malnutrition and Emaciation: Due to the current island condition, natural vegetation is scarce, leaving the rabbits dependent on tourists. However, amount food supply is not consistent depending on the weather, sometime too much, at other times, too little, causing various health problems, especially for sick and injured rabbits.