Here at the RWAF we are aware of 3 significant fatal viral diseases of rabbits in the UK. Myxomatosis (covered by the vaccine Nobivac Myxo-RHD); Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease 1 (covered by Nobivac Myxo-RHD), and Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease 2 (covered by the vaccines Filavac KC and V, or Eravac).
We are not aware of any further versions of RVHD present in the UK, although the variant K5 has been discovered in Asia and Australasia.
We are not aware of any viral infections that are acutely fatal to rabbits and rodents recently arriving in the UK.
If anyone has documentary evidence of any exotic diseases arriving in the UK in future please inform us and the Animal Plant and Health Agency.
Richard Saunders BSc(Hons) BVSc MSB CBiol DZooMed (Mammalian) MRCVS
As always we are massive supporters of rescues and always encourage people to #adoptdontshop
It’s Welfare Wednesday today and the first one of the month, so today we are featuring rabbits at two different rescues who are available for adoption.
Here are photos and messages from the rescues, and hopefully, how you can contact them!
Just a note from us – how sad to read that 7 year old rabbits have spent their whole lives in rescue!
#letsfindthemagreathome
Jill Woodward – Honeybunnies
Bilbo at Honeybunnies Rescue
Red eyed white boys are sticking as many people don’t like red eyes which is a shame as they are lovely lads! Timid and a bit short sighted but lovely natured rabbits. Both are vaccinated and neutered and approx 10 months old, small to medium size.
Pictured are Bilbo and Baggins. we also have their brothers Frodo and Hobbit who is fluffier!
Also have a young lad named Sundial, very friendly but a bit of a digger, chewer and
We have pairs of rabbits looking for loving new homes –
Mariah and Amaru at Rabbit Residence
Mariah & Amaru are 6 years old and would suit a spacious outdoor home as Mariah is half wild.
Solstice & Lindor are 6 years old and have spent most of their lives in rescue. They’re a
Lindor and Solstice at Rabbit Residence
cheeky pair suited to a quiet indoor or outdoor home.
Mulder & Scully are 7 years old and have been in rescue their whole lives. They’re an adventurous pair who love to explore and are happy to interact with you once they get to know you.
All of our rabbits are neutered and fully vaccinated, homes must exceed RWAF guidelines and we will rehome up to three hours away.
Mulder and Scully at Rabbit Residence
The Rabbit Residence Rescue (registered charity 1148016) is based on the Herts/Cambs boarders and is home to around 100 rabbits at any one time.
We have a sponsor scheme for some of our long term residents who have not been rehomed due to health or behavioural issues and also offer a holiday boarding.
It’s Welfare Wednesday again – this week we are reminding everyone to vaccinate their rabbits against both myxi and VHD, because this is the best protection we can give them,and both diseases are deadly. RWA members will receive the attached poster in the next issue of Rabbiting On – but it is also available on our website – please share and help us spread the word – “magic won’t protect our bunni…es, the trick is to vaccinate”
It’s welfare wednesday – and this week we want your input please. Snow is forecast this month, so we hope everyone with outdoor bunnies is thinking about keeping them warm and dry, and still allowing them to exercise. Bedding areas should be kept clean and dry, and filled with straw (because it is warmer than hay). Dont forget to add a tarpaulin to your exercise run to offer shelter from the rain and snow, and this will allow the rabbits to have their regular exercise. Snuggle safe pads are great for keeping rabbits warm over night, and dont forget to keep a spare water bottle so that if one freezes you can replace it with another. Hutches can be brought into empty garden sheds, and the rabbits can have the run of the shed too. Ofcourse, the best way of keeping rabbits warm over the winter is to keep them in pairs so that they can snuggle together. Have you got any tips you would like to share? We will pick the best ones and add them to the website.
It’s Welfare Wednesday – most of us will know someone who has a rabbit, so please share our blog, twitter or facebook page and help us reach as many rabbit owners as possible. We are still collecting data to update the rescue statistics for the UK, so if you volunteer or work for a rescue in the UK that has rehomed rabbits in the last 3 years please get in touch with us at Ros@rabbitwelfare.co.uk. We want to update the statistics to get an idea of how things have changed since they were first quoted as 35,000 around 10 years ago
It’s welfare Wednesday….We are still working and campaigning hard to improve the lives of pet rabbits. We have just filmed an interview for the ‘pets for life’ series as well as continuing to push our ‘ a hutch is not enough’ campaign with retailers and owners and we are seeing progress and getting good feedback. If you are new to the RWAF page, then you can read more about us here: http://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROSummer11-SevenAgesoftheRWAF.pdf
and a bit more about our work here: http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/?section=our_work.html
