A VET who helped identify a rare disease in hares in west Dorset, the first cases of such kind in the country, will host a talk on the subject.

Dorset Mammal Group will welcome Alex Barlow to talk about brown hares and some of the diseases they, and other wild mammals, suffer. Alex is one of the team of vets who identified the outbreak of the RHDV2 virus in January, when two dead hares were found near Bridport. The talk is aimed at anyone with an interest in wild mammals in Dorset.

Alex qualified from the University of Liverpool in 1978 and went into general practice in Cornwall. He then completed an MSc at the Institute of Aquaculture in 1981. After a short spell in practice in the Outer Hebrides, he joined the State Veterinary Service in 1982. In 1984, he moved to the Veterinary Investigation branch, where he was based at Langford Centre until 2014 and then moved to APHA Starcross VI Centre.

Alex has a specialist interest in diseases of British/European wild mammals, as well as a specific interest in zoonotic disease.

Researchers are urging west Dorset residents to report any sightings of dead or dying hares so they can track thRHDV2 virus.

Alex’s talk will take place on Friday, April 12, at the United Church hall on East Street, Bridport, at 7.30pm.