All wild animals carry diseases. In some cases these might be of concern because they can spread to humans or domestic animals. In other cases they may be of interest simply because the signs of the disease have been seen and you want to know more. Though diseases are relatively common in these animals there is usually an increase in reporting when the hare populations are at a peak.
High populations mean that there is an increased chance of one animal infecting another.
In addition, when there are too many animals in one area, the amount of available food is reduced so that the animals become weaker and more vulnerable to disease. The two common tapeworm infections in the snowshoe hare of this province are described in this factsheet. There are two common tapeworms found in the snowshoe hare of this province, Taenia pisiformis and Taenia serialis . These can be spread to dogs if they are fed uncooked meat or organs from an infected hare. They do not infect people.