Do hares suffer from grass sickness?

The study suggests that hares, like horses, can also be affected by grass sickness, a polyganglionopathy and alimentary tract issue, based on the analysis of three hares from an estate where two horses had already died due to this illness.

What is the background of the study?

• This research was conducted after observing a common illness among horses called ‘grass sickness’ at an East Anglian estate.
• The researchers decided to autopsy one dead and two sick hares from the same estate after two mares died of grass sickness.
• The objective of the study was to identify if hares can also suffer from grass sickness.

What did the researchers discover?

• Upon conducting the autopsy, researchers observed that two of the hares were suffering from a polyganglionopathy and digestive tract changes.
• These conditions were remarkably similar to those seen in horses that had died from grass sickness.

What did the control group consist of?

• To validate their findings, researchers also studied two healthy hares from the same location.
• These healthy hares served as the control group for the study, providing a basis to compare the health conditions of the sick hares.
• No such abnormalities seen in the sick hares were found in these healthy hares.

What could be the potential implications of the study?

• The findings of the study suggest that not only horses but hares may also suffer from grass sickness.
• However, further studies would likely be necessary to definitively establish the relationship between the grass sickness found in horses and the similar condition observed in hares.