Urgent warning to vaccinate pet rabbits against deadly virus as wild rabbit control program gets underway
Vets are urging pet rabbit owners to vaccinate their bunnies as soon as possible after a deadly virus was released to control wild rabbit numbers.
The wild rabbit program kicked off today in local councils in the Greater Sydney region of New South Wales, but it's not too late to get your pet vaccinated against Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV1 K5), also known as calicivirus.
Dr Will Cadell, Greencross Vets regional clinic director, tells 9honey Pets that the virus will take a little while to spread so it's ideal to get the vaccination this week.
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Vets are urging pet rabbit owners to vaccinate their bunnies as soon as possible. Getty
"I would say that it's never too late to get the vaccine done," he said, adding that it takes a week for the rabbits to be immune.
"They're releasing the virus this week, but it's gonna take a while to reach like a critical mass because there's an incubation period... obviously this is gonna take a little while to spread, so it's definitely not too late."
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While the wild rabbit control program is important for managing wild rabbits because of the problems they cause for native wildlife, farmland and ecosystems, pet rabbits can accidentally be exposed to the virus.
Calicivirus is highly contagious and spreads by direct contact, as well as mosquitoes and flies, so it doesn't matter if your rabbit only stays indoors because it can be brought in on shoes or sporting equipment or from insect bites.
Calder warned the virus has a high mortality rate and rabbits need immunity to fight it.
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Griffin the Angora rabbit waiting for his vaccination against calicivirus. Supplied
"Often they'll have no symptoms and they will just suddenly die because rabbits, often when they're ill won't show many symptoms with a lot of diseases," he said.
"However, often they'll be lethargic, they'll stop eating, they might have a nasal discharge, sometimes they'll start bleeding from the nose, and they might have breathing difficulties as well.
"It's pretty horrible and it can be really protracted as well. So it can range from sudden death to quite a protracted two week illness and there is no real cure."
One pet rabbit owner who has vaccinated her bunnies ahead of the release is Northern Beaches local Alex Power.
Power's latest addition is an Angora rabbit named Griffin who she rescued after he was listed on Gumtree.
Power is keen to get the word out about the importance of vaccinating against calicivirus in areas where the wild rabbit control program is underway.
"I'm really passionate about getting the word out there as much as possible to make sure that people realise what's coming. It's literally being released now and people are like, 'Oh well, it's fine, my bunny's indoors', but we all know that unfortunately mosquitoes get indoors and that's how it's transmitted," she said.
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Griffin was a trooper through his vet visit. Supplied
Griffin's vaccination was quick and easy with the little guy barely noticing it was happening.
Power knowns of rabbit owners who have faced the devastation of calicivirus on their pets and doesn't want to see it happening to anyone else.
"I know that it's tough with the financial crisis and everything else, but if you love your bunny and you want it to survive, it's just not worth the risk of not vaccinating.," she said.
Vaccination is the best way to protect bunnies from accidental exposure to the virus. Getty
The current vaccine contains the most common strains and it's important to get rabbits vaccinated yearly or even six monthly as strains are updated to control wild populations.
In addition to vaccinating, pet rabbit owners are advised to sanitise food bowls and water dispensers, clean shoes and other sporting equipment used outside and minimise outdoor exposure, particularly in areas near wild rabbit populations.
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