WSU vets: Don’t purchase a rabbit this Easter
WSU vets: Don’t buy a bunny this Easter WSU Press Release
PULLMAN, Wash.– Days after Idaho recorded its very first case of a fatal viral illness in wild bunnies, Washington State University vets are requesting parents to leave the rabbits out of Easter baskets.
The vets aren’t alone – the Washington State Department of Wildlife and also the Washington State Department of Agriculture are making the same suggestion.
“Every year rabbits are purchased as Easter presents, and each year, a lot of those bunnies are released and become easy dishes for nearby killers,” claimed Dr. Nickol Finch, exotics veterinarian at WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. “More significantly, residential bunnies can spread out disease that can damage wild bunny populaces.”
One of the most usual of those conditions is rabbit hemorrhagic disease, which creates untimely end in bunnies as well as can be spread out with contact with infected animals.
The illness, which is rapidly sweeping through the West, is thought to have actually stemmed in European rabbits, a few of which are currently preferred pet dogs in the United States and are sometimes released this moment of year. Up until in 2014, the illness had not been recognized to impact North American indigenous bunnies or hares, such as cottontails, snowshoe hares and jackrabbits.
“The virus can not infect other individuals and family pets; nonetheless various other animals and also individuals can act as fomites,” said Dr. Marcie Logsdon, WSU exotics vet. “That is, they can bring infection fragments from sick bunnies to healthy ones.”
The fatal illness was found recently in 2 dead bunnies near Boise Airport, noting Idaho’s first cases.
Because March of last year, the illness has actually been recorded in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah as well as Wyoming. The condition was validated in feral rabbit populaces on Washington’s state’s Orcas as well as San Juan Islands and also Clallam County in 2019 yet has actually not been confirmed somewhere else in the state.
“It’s almost Easter and also we’re really hoping residential rabbits won’t contribute to the already significant spread of this illness,” Finch stated.
A vaccine for rabbits is available at the Center for Bird and also Exotic Animal Medicine in Bothell, Washington.
The WSDA is asking bunny proprietors to exercise great biosecurity actions to safeguard their pets from this disease, such as washing hands before as well as after collaborating with bunnies as well as not sharing equipment with various other owners. Contact with feral rabbits ought to be avoided.
Logsdon noted the illness can be spread by fur in addition to rabbit-to-rabbit call.
Proprietors are likewise suggested to either keep rabbits inside or guarantee that outdoor enclosures rise off of the ground to prevent call with wild rabbits. The WSDA additionally suggests burying dead bunnies to minimize the danger of condition transmission.
Individuals are motivated to report dead wild rabbits such as cottontails as well as jack bunnies to their neighborhood wildlife companies. Additionally, they need to seek veterinary attention if their bunny is ill.
“Right now, if it helps keep them away from other animals, it’s a sensible choice. It actually might conserve your rabbit’s or a few other bunny’s life,” Finch claimed. Previous Article Fatal Crash Near Juliaetta Claims Life of Juvenile Next Article Acting U.S. Attorney Addresses Increasing Danger of Counterfeit Prescription Opioids Print