Rabbit Awareness Week (#RAW2019) is an annual event to increase the public awareness of the health needs for pet rabbits in the UK.
This year’s Rabbit Awareness Week theme is ‘Protect and Prevent’ and will be raising awareness around Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease 2 (RVHD2).
RVHD2 is a new variant of the RVHD1 virus which causes internal bleeding.
The disease has a low recovery rate as there is no specific treatment for RVHD2 only supportive care.
Therefore, the best way to protect your rabbits is to vaccinate them!
We’re happy to be taking part in RAW 2019 because we need to spread awareness that rabbits need to be vaccinated, we are running the promotion for the whole month of June.
We are running an incentive on preventative healthcare for the whole month to encourage people to get up to date.
We are offering free health checks with our nurses plus 10% off all rabbit neutering and 15% off all rabbit vaccinations. The free health checks are booked within our normal nurse clinic times but unfortunately are not available at weekends. To book a free health check, vaccination or neutering, please call your local branch.
- Normally £91.73 – RAW price £82.04 Spey (female)
- Normally £69.22 – RAW price £62.57 Castration (male)
- Normally £32.50 – RAW price £27.63 Myxo – RHD1
- Normally £27.00 – RAW price £22.95 RHD2 (Filavac)
- Normally £50.00 – RAW price £42.50 Combined course (given 2 weeks apart) Myxo – RHD1 + RHD2 (Filavac)
The latest figures show that less than 15% of Britain’s pet rabbit population is protected against RVHD2.
Why are the statistics so low?
According to the PDSA 2018 Paw Report the main reason for owners not vaccinating their rabbits was because they believed they never encounter other animals to obtain any diseases.
Unknown to a lot of owners, this is not the only way your rabbit can catch the disease.
Here are some other examples:
Birds and insects and their droppings
The wind
Soles of shoes, car tyres or other pets’ feet
An infected rabbit or their droppings
Owners’ hands or clothes
Don’t hesitate, vaccinate!
