Have to say I'm with
@Jurek7 on this one in that I think this is a mistake - it undermines the credibility of the system a bit I think when you're telling people European Rabbits (say) are Endangered when they are visibly numerous, often to problematic levels, on a global scale. Maybe a new status is called for? A little star or something to indicate their status in native range versus globally?
Do some research before saying nonsensical things. If you believe you can do a better job, join IUCN and start doing assessments. Hopefully, you can share your insights about population biology, ecology and genetics to them. But remember it is mostly a volunteer job. Most specialists who do the assessements are not paid to do so.
Justification
The European Rabbit is a widespread colonizer and is considered a
pest outside its natural range, where eradication of the rabbit is priority for conservation (Cooke 2014, Cooke, Flux and Bonino 2018). However,
only the natural range of Spain, Portugal, and southern France are considered in this global assessment. Assessment of the European Rabbit is filled with contradictions (Lees and Bell 2008, Delibes-Mateos et al. 2011). The European Rabbit is an important game species in Spain, Portugal and France, and the agriculture sector considers the species a pest (not a typical situation for a putatively Threatened species). On the other hand, it is an important ecosystem engineer (Galvez-Bravo et al. 2009) and a keystone species within its native range (Delibes-Mateos et al. 2008), serving as the dominant prey item for the highly endangered Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) and the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti) (Ferrer and Negro 2004). However, from 1950 onwards, the European Rabbit declined dramatically throughout its native range to densities less than 10% of those found earlier in the 20th century mainly due to the irruption of viral diseases (Myxomatosis in the fifties and Rabbit Hemorrhagic disease, RHD, in the nineties), and habitat loss (Moreno et al. 2007, Delibes-Mateos et al. 2009a, Villafuerte et al. 2017). Other factors such as human induced mortality or predation may have played a role in rabbit decline, at least locally. On balance this situation led more than one decade ago to a classification of the European Rabbit as Vulnerable in Spain and Near Threatened in Portugal (Cabral et al. 2005, Villafuerte and Delibes-Mateos 2008). In recent years many rabbit populations, particularly in natural habitats, have continued declining (some have even become extirpated), while others, mostly in human-modified landscapes, have increased in numbers leading to an increase in complaints by farmers concerning crop damage caused by rabbits (Delibes-Mateos et al. 2014a).
Most recently, beginning after 2010, a new wave of disease (a new variant of RHD virus – GI.2/RHDV2/b) has swept through many rabbit populations causing massive declines. In an area that traditionally held the highest rabbit densities within Doñana National Park (i.e. Coto del Rey) – which thus held a core population of Iberian Lynx – there was a decline of greater than 80% during 2012-2014. In low-density rabbit areas within the park similar declines have been reported (Delibes-Mateos et al. 2014b). Rabbit density in the proximity to Yeguas River in Andújar and Cardeña Natural park in southern Spain, where the largest Iberian Lynx population lives, the rabbit density declined from more than 3.5 rabbits/ha in 2010 to less than 1 rabbit/ha in 2013 (a decline of approximately 75%). Also, rabbit abundance decreased by 57% between 2010 and 2014 in 26 localities surveyed in the Córdoba province (southern Spain), only 11% of these populations experienced a positive trend in the study period (Guerrero-Casado et al. 2016). The Andalusian government through censuses that started in 2004, has shown that rabbit density has decreased on average by more than 50% in 2016, despite the increase in abundance detected in some agricultural areas, where rabbits have to be controlled to avoid crop damage (
www.juntadeandalucia.es). Hunters have similarly noted the decreased abundance of rabbits based on declines of 70-80% in the hunter bags in some estates compared with recent years (Delibes-Mateos et al. 2014b). In summary, the recent overall estimated 60-70% decline in populations of European Rabbits over the past decade has been followed by decreases of 65.7% in Iberian Lynx and 45.5% in Spanish Imperial Eagle fecundities (Monterroso et al. 2016). These new data lead to a re-evaluation of the previous assessment of the European Rabbit as NT, to EN – Endangered A2abce reflecting that populations have experienced or are experiencing declines mainly due to the recent impact of GI.2/RHDV2/b. The A3 criteria has not been applied because European Rabbits have been known to develop immunity to epizootics of prior viral diseases, it is hoped that a similar recovery will occur following this epizootic.
