Vancouver Island Fluffle is hosting a rabbit vaccination clinic this month in Nanaimo, following two confirmed cases of a highly contagious, fatal virus being found in Washington rabbits.
The presence of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus was recently detected in two San Juan county rabbits, according to a release sent out by the Washington State Department of Agriculture on Oct. 4. The disease spreads from rabbit-to-rabbit through bodily fluids, bedding, feed and water as well as feces. Vancouver Island has its own grim history of the virus, after it spread through the Island's feral population in 2018-19.
While it's not contagious to humans, dogs or cats, it is highly contagious for domestic rabbits and can be spread from feral domestic populations on the Island to pets.
The good news for pet owners is while the virus is incredibly deadly, with a 70-100 per cent fatality rate according to VCA Canada Animal Hospitals, there is a vaccination. The bad news is it is only effective for a year, then requires another vaccination to remain effective.
Heather White, V.I. Fluffle's chairperson, said it's "very important" for pet owners to remain up to date on this vaccination.
"We've been dealing with outbreaks over the last five years, more so then before, so as soon as we heard something was close to us we wanted to act fast and make sure our domesticated pets are safe because we have so many feral rabbits in our community," White said. "It's actually very passable. It can come in on your shoes, it can come in on urine, it can come on fur from touching other animals. It is quite aggressive in how it reacts."
While some vaccinations require an additional booster after the initial shot, White said they went with a vaccination that doesn't need a booster for its annual protection.
"It's a no-brainer for myself as a rabbit owner, we do it for our V.I. Fluffle society animals and we really hope we can spread the news to everybody so everybody is on board with this."
The clinic is being held Oct. 27 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Royal LePage Nanaimo Realty office. The cost is $35 for the first rabbit, then $25 for each additional rabbit. People are asked to e-mail vaccine@vifluffle.ca to reserve their spot.
On Nov. 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. V.I. Fluffle will be hosting a Hop Into Winter Market at Beban Park's Centennial Hall. White said if there is a large interest in the vaccination, the organization may host a follow-up clinic at the event.
The B.C. SPCA has an online fact sheet for pet owners who want to learn more about the virus at https://spca.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Rabbit-Hemorrhagic-Disease-Information-Sheet-for-Rabbit-Guardians-1.pdf. Published in 2022, in the fact sheet the SPCA recommends rabbit owners vaccinate their pets, monitor daily for signs of illness and contact their veterinarian immediately with any concerns.
