ANNAMITE STRIPED RABBIT

Analysis of camera-trap photos and population trends of other co-occurring species suggests that the population of the striped rabbit may have declined by more than 50% from 2008 to 2018. Snaring affects an estimated 95% of its range. Many striped rabbits have been found dead in snares during surveys of protected areas, and snared specimens have been found in markets in Viet Nam and Laos. In recent years, they were observed being sold frequently in a market in Dak Cheung district of Xekong province in Laos. A WWF survey team found a pair in March 2021 with shotgun pellet wounds suggesting illegal hunting with firearms in that area.1 A live stripped rabbit was rescued from the same market in February 2023 by the local law enforcement agency and transferred to a rescue centre but it died within a few days due to internal injuries. In some places, the striped rabbits are hunted with dogs and guns, because they tend to freeze when powerful light is flashed at them, making them easy to kill or catch. Very few striped rabbits were detected in camera-trap surveys in Bach Ma National Park, where there is extensive snaring, compared to more frequent detections in more remote Hue and Quang Nam saola nature reserves, indicating that their relative rarity is correlated with snaring pressure.