Rabbit Raising and RHDV2

Ferg

I'm not a rabbit farmer, or even a rabbit owner, so I don't pay so much attention as I probably should to these things, but apparently the "Bunny Ebola" has come to the US and is making quite a problem in the rabbit population. I just ran across an article in one of my resources that surprised me, so I thought I'd bring it up here. The outbreak of RHDV2 in US rabbits, which has literally caused the death of hundreds (actually over a thousand) rabbits in the US, is a real concern for both rabbit owners, farmers, wild rabbits (which provide food for up-the-chain animals), and rare wild rabbits. Because of the classification of this disease as a 'foreign agent', the vaccine is difficult to get and expensive if one has multiple rabbits. Additionally, vaccinating wild rabbits is a challenge that hasn't been overcome.

Animals from Northwester Canada into Washington State south have died, as well as outbreaks in other cities, including NYC, NY. The virus has 'jumped' to non-domestic rabbits in Arizona. It has a 90% fatality rate.

For those of you who are doing the rabbit farming, have you heard about this? been impacted by it? Have a plan in place to prevent loss?

Here are some resources as to the current outbreak:

From the House Rabbit Society: https://rabbit.org/rhdv/

From the Arizona Department of Agriculture: https://agriculture.az.gov/animals/rabbit-hemorrhagic-disease/rabbit-hemorrhagic-disease-fact-sheet