Deadly rabbit virus in Delta forces relocation
ANIMAL CARE: Quarantine is best protection for pet bunnies while disease runs its course, vet suggests
The weekend next is about the Resurrection, but another biblical story comes to mind considering the plight of these Easter bunnies: The parable of the Good Samaritan.
Rabbitats Rescue Society needs a home for 200 rabbits, somewhere to quarantine them while a bunny-killing virus runs its course in B.C. over the next few months.
The virus has many strains, affects European rabbits (native rabbits have not been known to be susceptible so far) and in this case is 95 per cent fatal. It’s spread by direct contact from flies and mosquitoes, or by someone stepping in or inadvertently handling droppings from hawks and eagles that have eaten infected bunnies.
“The strain we’re blessed with is definitely the worst one,” Sorelle Saidman of Rabbitats said. “The rabbits we’ve seen get infected, the mortality rate is 95 to 100 per cent.”
Rabbitats saved 400 bunnies on the loose at the Richmond Auto Mall over the course of four years and had housed them in various vacant buildings there. But they ran out of empty buildings, so 120 of the bunnies are being temporarily housed in Delta and another 80 or so in Surrey.
“We have them in barns, but this virus makes it urgent we find an indoor space to house them,” Saidman said.
The virus is called rabbit hemorrhagic disease and is used as a pest control in places like Australia.
“It’s what they use to kill all the rabbits as an invasive species in Australia, it’s pretty rude,” Saidman said. “Here, it’s going to be pretty hard to keep them safe.”
About 50 rabbits dumped into the wild on Annacis Island by owners who no longer found them cute are dead from the virus. The other outbreak in B.C. occurred in Nanaimo in late February. Cases in Comox and Coutenay have not been confirmed. The only other records of the virus striking in Canada were private rabbit collections in Winnipeg and in Quebec.
There is a vaccination just made available in Canada, but it costs up to $400.
The B.C. government is warning people to keep pet rabbits inside. “Pet owners should monitor their rabbits daily for signs of illness and contact their veterinarian immediately with any concerns.”
The virus causes bleeding and attacks the liver and other organs. There is often bleeding from the nose at the time of death.
“While there is no threat to humans ... the public is advised not to move domestic rabbits into the wild at any time.”
The best advice to keep your bunny safe, said Dr. Adrian Walton of the Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge, is simple: “Quarantine, quarantine, quarantine. At this point that is the No. 1 thing to do in this situation.”
Rabbitats’ main fundraiser, the Easter Bunny Fest, will be held on Easter Sunday at a former Art Knapp Garden Centre at 8697 Granville, but will be curtailed this year in that the bunnies will be quarantined behind a large picture window. There will be the familiar rabbit-themed flea market, face painting, art work, games and ice cream truck.
“But this year it will be look, don’t touch,” Saidman said.