Protect your pet rabbits

[bright.ton42]

Just a heads up,  the Calici virus is being released today said to dispose of over 40% of wild rabbits.

Apparently it is spread very easily and pet rabbits can be easily infected.  There is a vaccine available and owners are advised to have their pets immunised. 

http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-rabbit-calicivirus-and-how-do-I-protect-my-rabbit-from-rabbit-haemorr...

[davidc4430]

i heard there is a shortage of vaccine, as usual great forward planning.

its truly a sorry thing that in the 21st century our answer to the wild rabbit problem is to inflict them with an horendouse death.

it would not be tolerated in most other animal contol enviroments.

imagine if the cat and dog control people gave those animals a disease that took weeks to kill?

[bright.ton42]

It just makes me cringe, I know they have to be reduced but why in this day and age can't something more human be found. 

[Anonymous]

And we consider ourselves civilised

[debra9275]

When we had pet abbits I was always worried about them being bitten by mosquito carriers

[amalan11]

I hate to see this kind of thing happen, very cruel .

I went to hardware store yesterday and got flyscreen to staple over my 3 guys cage wire as extra protection as apparently flys and mozzies will be carriers. I remember last time this virus was released it was a huge problem for pet rabbits,I will have to look at vaccination as well .

[davidc4430]

the "authorities" say just get your bunny vaccinated.

some people would have several bunnys, how much does it cost to get a bunny vaccinated?

i bet its not $5

quite a lot of bunny owners have them because they are a cheap pet that kids can handle and can live outside and eat scraps.

the kind of people who dont have lots of spare cash for vaccinations.

[chameleon54]

Unfortunately nature is not always sensitive and kind.

As human populations become more urbanised and cut off from the real world, they tend to see everything through the sanitised, homoginised, pasturised view of the artificial, plastic world that they live in.

A place where everthing is regulated and controlled. Everything is man made. From the concrete paths to the architecturally designed gardens and parklands. Things come in a plastic bag and go in a plastic bin. We wake to a regulated alarm clock, go to work in our highly regulated and controlled traffic systems. Work for 8 hours at a computer in a climate controlled office and head home to heat our pre-prepared meal from the supermarket.

In nature there are fires, floods, famine and feast. Locust plagues, mice plagues, rabbit plagues and even koala bear and fur seal plagues. There are hunters and prey, untreated injuries and disease. Animal disability without human support and eventual slow painfull death. And there is calici virus.

Life in the natural world can be heartless, ruthless and cruel. Welcome to the real world.

[davidc4430]

your confusing nature with mans intervention.

yes nature can and is cruel, no doubt about it.

no one is arguing that.

the argument here if it is an argument is that we are now in the 21st century and the best cure we have for a problem is to inflict a disease that takes weeks to kill and causes terrible suffering onto a species of animal because its become a problem.

if its ok to use such a thing on rabbits why not feral cats. imagine if the govt released a desease into the feral cat population that caused cats to die in a similar manner to the rabbits requiring every pet cat to be vaccinated? i would think the govt that did that would be booted out of govt. and yet the problems are very similar. then there is wild dogs, wild goats ect ect.

the govt only got away with it as it was rabbits, only a small number of people own pet rabbits.

i dont own a rabbit. but i would be horrified if the govt anounced they were going to release cat version of the calici virus to cull feral cats.

the calici virus is not part of the real world, it is just an easy solution to a problem

if i was to infect my dog with a disease on purpose that took several weeks to kill him in much pain and suffering and i was put in court i'd be fined, stopped from owning pets and possibly jailed.

[bright.ton42]

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@davidc4430 wrote:

your confusing nature with mans intervention.

yes nature can and is cruel, no doubt about it.

no one is arguing that.

the argument here if it is an argument is that we are now in the 21st century and the best cure we have for a problem is to inflict a disease that takes weeks to kill and causes terrible suffering onto a species of animal because its become a problem.

if its ok to use such a thing on rabbits why not feral cats. imagine if the govt released a desease into the feral cat population that caused cats to die in a similar manner to the rabbits requiring every pet cat to be vaccinated? i would think the govt that did that would be booted out of govt. and yet the problems are very similar. then there is wild dogs, wild goats ect ect.

the govt only got away with it as it was rabbits, only a small number of people own pet rabbits.

i dont own a rabbit. but i would be horrified if the govt anounced they were going to release cat version of the calici virus to cull feral cats.

the calici virus is not part of the real world, it is just an easy solution to a problem

if i was to infect my dog with a disease on purpose that took several weeks to kill him in much pain and suffering and i was put in court i'd be fined, stopped from owning pets and possibly jailed.

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So well said David.  As I';ve said before I know they have to be reduced but in this barbaric way?   I don't know if I'm being naive but who cares,  wasn't there talk of 'infecting' them with birth control methods?    So it might take a bit longer than calici but I don't know why it's not doable.