This past Saturday was the opening of the statewide muzzleloader deer hunting season for antlerless deer that runs until Oct. 26. It also marked the statewide opening of the archery bear hunting season that runs until Nov. 9.

The muzzleloader deer season gives black powder hunters an opportunity to put some venison on the table and in the freezer before the rifle deer hunting season begins.

But of concern to sportsmen and in particular small game hunters, is the advisory from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to make sportsmen aware and ask for their help in identifying rabbits and snowshoe hares that are found dead or appear diseased.

The commission has alerted sportsmen to Rabbit Hemorrhagic Virus 2 (RHDV2). This disease could pose a serious threat to the state’s rabbits and hares because it can cause mass die-offs which includes 75-100 percent of local populations when it becomes established. The agency says there is no specific treatment for RHDV2 that can remain on the landscape for months. And they go on to say that early detection of its possible presence and with the immediate removal of suspected carcasses, is the best way to stop its spread.

The PGC is asking hunters, or anyone, who finds two or more dead rabbits or hares at the same location with an unknown cause of death, to report it by calling 1-833-PGC-WILD or by using the commission’s online Wildlife Health Survey at https://www.pgcapps.pa.WHS.

Domestic hare or rabbit owners with questions about the disease should contact their veterinarians who can in turn report suspect animals to the PA Department of Agricultural Bureau of Animal Health at 717-772-2852 option 1. Calls can be made anytime 24/7.

RHDV2 poses no human health risk, but multiple sick of dead hares in one place also can be an indication of tularemia or plague, though those diseases can cause serious illness in humans. So those animals should not be handled or consumed which appear sick or have died from an unknown cause. And it’s advised to keep pets away from such specimens.

The virus has only been detected in Pennsylvania once before in a domestic facility in Uniontown, Fayette County. So far, it hasn’t been found in wild populations but there have been reports from areas out in western some states where it has developed.

SNOWSHOE HARES

The PGC is also asking hunters to report if they see snowshoe hares while they are hunting and if they are still turning all white in winter. It’s part of the agency’s Snowshoe Cooperator Program that’s in its third year.

The PGC is looking to get a handle on whether they spot hares that were all white and if not, what they looked like. It’s because Pennsylvania is one of the few states where brown hares have been reported in winter, and the only state where brown hares have been reported in winter, and it’s the only state where unique winter pelt patterns, such as brown eye rings and brown ears, have been detected.

To enter the program, go to www.hares@pa.gov.