Bunny owners may not be aware that there is a very deadly rabbit virus on the loose in Australia. It is known as RHDV2 Calicivirus and was released in Canberra in 2015 from a government laboratory in a security breach.
It has spread now to all states of Australia and rabbits are being reported as dying suddenly.
We encourage rabbit owners to:
Keep rabbits inside the house
Keep rabbits flea and fly free
Keep rabbits away from other rabbits either wild or domestic
There is no vaccine specifically for RHDV2 Calicivirus in Australia. Other countries such as USA, European countries and New Zealand have quickly moved to developing or importing a vaccine to protect pet rabbits and other domestic rabbits.
We suggest to pet rabbit owners that they contact their local MP and Federal MP to ask them to cut the red tape to allow the importation or manufacture of a vaccine to protect our pets.
The current vaccine, Cylap, protects against other strains of RHDV Calicivirus. We recommend vaccinating 6 monthly.
