Wild rabbits in Switzerland: Critically endangered, yet still huntable

The European rabbit is among the most endangered mammals in Switzerland. It is listed as "endangered" (EN) on the Red List. Its population is tiny: in the early 1980s, the species was still well-represented in Ticino, but an epidemic practically wiped out the population at the end of the 20th century. Today, only a few isolated populations remain in Switzerland. Nevertheless, the European rabbit is listed as a game species in the Federal Hunting Act. It is the most absurd case in the Swiss hunting system: a species on the verge of extinction that can still be legally hunted.

Profile

The European wild rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) belongs to the hare family (Leporidae) and is the only species in the genus Oryctolagus. It is the ancestor of all domestic rabbits. With a body length of 40 to 50 centimeters and a weight of 1.5 to 2 kilograms, it is significantly smaller and more compact than the European hare. Its ears are shorter, and its hind legs are less long. The fur is greyish-brown on the upper parts, rust-brown on the neck, and white on the underside and the underside of the short tail (the "tail").

Biology and social structure

Unlike the European hare, which lives as a solitary animal in open landscapes, the European rabbit is a highly social animal. It lives in colonies and digs complex, underground burrows that are expanded and used over generations. A strict hierarchy exists within the colony. European rabbits are primarily crepuscular and nocturnal and rarely venture more than a few hundred meters from their burrow when foraging for food. This close attachment to the burrow fundamentally distinguishes them from the European hare, which, as a precocial animal, rests in open forms.

Wild rabbits prefer open landscapes with low vegetation, patches of bushes, and loose soils suitable for burrowing. Forest edges, hedgerows, dunes, and embankments are ideal habitats. They find hardly any suitable habitats in intensively farmed areas. Climatically, wild rabbits depend on milder climates; they are absent from higher mountain regions.

Reproduction

The European rabbit has one of the highest reproductive rates among native mammals. A female rabbit can give birth to three to five litters per year, each with three to seven young. The young are born naked and blind (altricial), unlike leverets, which are born precocial and already furred and sighted. This high reproductive rate is an adaptation to high mortality: natural predators, diseases, and weather take a heavy toll. Under normal conditions, reproduction compensates for these losses. However, when diseases such as myxomatosis or RHD (Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease) strike, even a population with a high reproduction rate can collapse within a short time.

Red List status

The European rabbit is listed as "endangered" (EN) on the Swiss Red List of mammals (BAFU, 2022). This means there is a high risk of the species becoming extinct in Switzerland in the medium term. The population is very small and fragmented. SRF reported in 2022 that the Swiss population of wild rabbits was "very small" and that the species had practically disappeared from Ticino after an epidemic at the end of the 20th century (SRF, 2022). 20 Minuten and Infosperber confirmed in 2022 that wild rabbits in Switzerland are "particularly endangered" (20 Minuten, Infosperber, 2022).

The story: From Roman rabbit to plague victim

Origin and spread

The European rabbit originates from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. The Romans kept it as a domestic animal. In the Middle Ages, it was introduced to large parts of Europe and spread rapidly thanks to its enormous reproductive capacity. In Switzerland, it has established itself primarily in the milder climatic regions, especially in Ticino, the Lake Geneva area, and northwestern Switzerland. It has never been considered a common species in Switzerland, as the high alpine altitudes and harsh climate of large parts of the country naturally limit its distribution.

The catastrophe: Myxomatosis and RHD

The history of the wild rabbit in Europe is inextricably linked to two devastating viral diseases, both caused or spread by humans.

Myxomatosis was deliberately introduced into the wild rabbit population in France in 1952 when landowner Paul-Félix Armand-Delille released two infected rabbits on his estate to control the rabbit population (Wikipedia, Myxomatosis). The virus spread rapidly across Europe and was almost devastating to the population. The mortality rate reached up to 99 percent. Wild rabbit populations were also drastically reduced in Switzerland. A new outbreak was reported in Switzerland in 2007 (AGES, Myxomatosis).

In addition, Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD, also known as "Chinese disease") emerged in the 1980s, another viral disease with mortality rates exceeding 80 percent. In Ticino, where a significant wild rabbit population still existed in the early 1980s, this epidemic led to the near-complete disappearance of the species (SRF, 2022). Furthermore, in 2018, a new virus recombinant (ha-MYXV) appeared on the Iberian Peninsula, which for the first time also killed brown hares en masse (Vetmeduni Vienna, 2025).

The wild rabbit in Switzerland is therefore not a victim of natural processes, but a victim of human manipulation: The diseases that brought it to the brink of extinction were spread by humans intentionally or negligently.

More on this topic: Dossier: Hunting and Biodiversity

Hunting: By law, a dying species is being shot.

Legal situation

The European rabbit is a game species under the Federal Hunting Act (JSG, Art. 5 para. 1 lit. f). The closed season extends from February 16th to September 30th. Hunting is permitted from October to mid-February. The cantons may further restrict the hunting season or protect the European rabbit year-round.

The contradiction is obvious: The European rabbit is classified as "endangered" on the Red List, the second-highest threat category after "critically endangered." At the same time, it is legal to hunt it under federal law. This simultaneous endangered status and hunting rights is untenable from both a wildlife biology and ethical perspective. Infosperber commented in 2022: "It is a disgrace that wild rabbits are still legal to hunt, even though they are considered endangered" (Infosperber, 2022).

The scale of the shootdown

The number of rabbits shot is low due to the tiny population. Federal hunting statistics show only isolated kills in recent years. However, even a few kills can mean the difference between survival and extinction for a remaining population on the verge of disappearance. The fact that the European rabbit is still on the list of huntable species is not a reflection of a deliberate wildlife policy, but rather of an oversight: the federal law has not been adapted to the reality of the Red List.

The comparison with the European hare

The European hare, classified as "vulnerable" (VU), one category lower than the European rabbit, is intensively hunted by recreational hunters, with around 1,600 animals shot each year, and is the subject of broad public debate. The European rabbit, which is even more endangered, is hardly mentioned in this debate because its population is so small that it practically no longer appears as game. But this is precisely what makes the situation so serious: a species that has become so rare that it has become "invisible" to recreational hunters remains in the hunting law. No one is fighting for its removal because no one cares. The European rabbit is dying in obscurity.

More on this topic: Dossier: The European hare in Switzerland

Ecological significance: A hidden keystone species

The ecosystem engineer

The European rabbit is a keystone species in areas where it occurs in healthy populations. Its burrowing activity aerates the soil, creates microhabitats for insects, reptiles, and amphibians, and promotes plant diversity through selective browsing. In its native habitat on the Iberian Peninsula, it forms the basis of the food chain for a whole chain of predators: the Iberian lynx and the Spanish imperial eagle rely on wild rabbits as their primary prey. The dramatic decline of the wild rabbit population due to myxomatosis and RHD has brought the Iberian lynx to the brink of extinction in Spain (German Hunting Association).

In Switzerland, the ecological importance of the wild rabbit is limited due to its small population size. However, this does not make its disappearance any less concerning: every species that vanishes from an ecosystem leaves a gap whose consequences often only become apparent years later.

Food source for predators

In regions with healthy wild rabbit populations, red foxes, eagle owls, common buzzards, stoats, and other predators benefit from the high availability of prey. The disappearance of the wild rabbit increases predation pressure on other prey animals, such as the also endangered brown hare. Restoring a healthy wild rabbit population would therefore have positive cascade effects on the entire ecosystem.

What would need to change

Immediate removal of the European rabbit from the list of huntable species : A species listed as "critically endangered" on the Red List, whose Swiss population is on the verge of extinction, must under no circumstances remain huntable. This removal is not a matter of hunting policy, but of species conservation, and it must be implemented at the federal level.
National Conservation Program for the Wild Rabbit : Switzerland needs an active conservation and reintroduction program for the wild rabbit. Suitable habitats must be identified, enhanced, and interconnected. Pioneer colonies must be protected from disturbance. The Geneva model demonstrates that in a canton without recreational hunting, the conditions for the recovery of small game species are significantly better.
Disease monitoring and prevention : Myxomatosis and RHD are the greatest threats to wild rabbits. Systematic monitoring of pathogens in Switzerland and the development of vaccination strategies for wild populations are urgently needed. The new virus recombinant ha-MYXV, which has also been infecting brown hares since 2018, requires particularly close monitoring.
Habitat enhancement : Wild rabbits need structurally diverse landscapes with loose soils, scrub patches, hedgerows, and extensively used grasslands. The intensification of agriculture has destroyed these habitats on a large scale. Ecological compensation areas, fallow land, and hedgerows must be specifically created in areas with historical rabbit populations.
Research on population size and distribution : There is no reliable, up-to-date data on the size and distribution of the wild rabbit population in Switzerland. Without this data, no conservation program is possible. A systematic population survey, including burrow counts, camera traps, and genetic analyses, is long overdue.
Public awareness : The wild rabbit has become so rare in Switzerland that most people are unaware of its existence. Public outreach and education about the threats it faces are essential for gaining public support for conservation measures.

Argumentation

"While the wild rabbit is technically a game animal, it's practically never shot anymore." This isn't an argument for maintaining its hunting status, but rather for abolishing it. When a species has become so rare that it no longer appears as game, removing it from the hunting regulations is a matter of course. Maintaining the hunting status on paper signals indifference towards species conservation.

“The main threat is disease, not recreational hunting.” That’s true. But when a species has been driven to the brink of extinction by myxomatosis and RHD, every additional mortality factor must be eliminated, even if it is small in number. This principle applies to the European hare, and it applies even more so to the even more endangered European rabbit. Recreational hunting of a species that has practically disappeared in Switzerland has no justifiable basis under animal welfare law.

"The European rabbit is not originally native to Switzerland and was introduced by humans." The European rabbit has lived in Switzerland since the Middle Ages and has been part of the native fauna for centuries. It is on the Red List of native mammals. Whether a species immigrated 500 or 5,000 years ago is irrelevant to its conservation status. What is crucial is that it is part of the existing ecosystem and that its disappearance would leave an ecological gap.

"The cantons can protect the wild rabbit anyway." The patchwork of cantonal regulations is no solution for a species with such a small and fragmented population. The wild rabbit needs nationwide protection at the federal level. Voluntary cantonal measures have failed with the brown hare, and they will certainly fail with the wild rabbit because the species is too rare to garner political attention.

"There are more important species conservation issues than the wild rabbit." There are many species conservation issues. But removing a species from the hunting law costs nothing, requires no administrative effort, and sends a signal: those who are serious about species conservation begin by eliminating obvious contradictions. The fact that a "critically endangered" species is a "critically endangered" species is one such contradiction.

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Sources

FOEN (2022): Red List of Mammals (excluding bats). Endangered species of Switzerland. Environmental Enforcement
Federal Hunting Statistics, FOEN/Wildlife Switzerland: http://www.jagdstatistik.ch
SRF (2022): Red List of Threatened Species is longer than ever before (Image/Text: Wild rabbits in Switzerland, population very small)
20 Minutes (2022): Red Lists, These animals are threatened with extinction in Switzerland
Infosperber (2022): Soon only made of chocolate? Fewer brown hares in Switzerland
Urban wildlife in Switzerland (2022): New Red List of Mammals
Wikipedia: Myxomatosis, wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
AGES Austria (2024): Rabbit disease, rabbit plague, myxomatosis
Vetmeduni Vienna (2025): Myxomatosis outbreak in Austria, new virus recombinant ha-MYXV
German Hunting Association: Animal profile wild rabbit
BLV (Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs): Myxomatosis (blv.admin.ch)
Forced hunting-ade.de: Canton of Geneva, Switzerland (Wild rabbits and hares very rare before the hunting ban)
Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Mammals and Birds (JSG, SR 922.0)
Animal Welfare Act (TSchG, SR 455)

Our claim

The European rabbit is the most invisible victim of Swiss hunting legislation. It is "critically endangered," its population vanishingly small, its existence in Switzerland acutely threatened. And yet, it is listed in federal law as a game species. No one needs the culling of the European rabbit. No one demands it. No one would miss it. Yet no one removes it from the list. The European rabbit is dying in the shadow of larger hunting debates, unnoticed by the public and ignored by a political system that pays lip service to species conservation in Sunday speeches but neglects it in practice. The diseases that have brought the European rabbit to the brink of extinction were caused by humans. The habitats it needs have been destroyed by humans. And the law that should protect it continues to permit its culling. The consequence is clear: The European rabbit must be immediately and nationwide removed from the list of game species and included in an active conservation program. It is the simplest and, at the same time, the most overdue measure for species conservation in Switzerland. This dossier is continuously updated as new figures, studies or political developments require it.

More on the topic of hobby hunting: In our dossier on hunting, we compile fact checks, analyses and background reports.