Burgess Pet Care, the organisers of Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), has announced this week that this year's Protect and Prevent campaign has been the most successful RAW campaign yet.

Over 5,000 campaign packs were downloaded from the Rabbit Awareness Week website and feedback from veterinary practices taking part in RAW has shown an increase in the number of RVHD2 vaccines being administered to rabbits.

Rabbit Awareness Week has been helping to improve the lives of pet rabbits in the UK for 13 years. This year’s Protect and Prevent campaign urged rabbit owners to get their rabbits vaccinated, following the continued outbreak of the latest deadly strain of rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RVHD2).

Veterinary practices were also urged to make sure they were stocking the necessary vaccines to protect rabbits against RVHD2 and other fatal diseases such as RVHD and myxomatosis. Thousands of veterinary practices, pet retail shops and rescue centres all held events throughout the week of RAW to help raise awareness of this year’s campaign and the importance of vaccinations. 

Peter Lancaster, Marketing Manager at Burgess Pet Care said: “RVHD2 is a very serious and horrible disease that has already claimed the lives of too many rabbits in the UK. This year’s Protect and Prevent campaign successfully raised awareness of the dangers around RVHD2 and the importance of vaccinations to protect rabbits against fatal diseases.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to the RAW partners, veterinary practices, rescue centres, pet shop retailers and, of course, rabbit owners, for their continued support in helping us to improve the health and wellbeing of rabbits. Collectively, the RAW partners are committed to maintaining this momentum of the campaign in addressing the issue of preventative healthcare for UK’s rabbits. Work has already begun on planning for next year’s campaign and we look forward to announcing more details in due course.”

The RAW partners received calls from rabbit owners in advance of this year’s campaign raising concerns that not enough practices were stocking the RVHD2 vaccines that were necessary to protect their rabbits. Comparing sales figures of the RVHD2 vaccines from June 2019 against June 2018 shows a 55% increase in the uptake of vaccinations from the veterinary sector year-on-year. 

Dr Richard Saunders, veterinary advisor to RWAF, said: "We heard lots of heart-breaking stories from owners and vets alike about rabbits, sometimes whole groups of rabbits, which had not been vaccinated. None of those people realised just how widespread the RVHD2 is, and how easy it is to pick it up. We will continue to campaign and share our message that it is very much better late than never to vaccinate rabbits against all three killer diseases of rabbits: myxomatosis, Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease 1 and 2."

RVHD2 still poses a significant threat to pet rabbits as the disease continues to spread. The only way to address this by vaccinating, vaccinations and veterinary professionals must continue to raise awareness of this risk by communicating the importance of vaccinations to rabbit owning clients.

This year’s campaign was supported by the RSPCA, PDSA, Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF), Wood Green the Animals Charity and Blue Cross.

Dr Jane Tyson, Scientific Officer and rabbit behaviour and welfare expert at the RSPCA, said: "Although Rabbit Awareness Week has ended for another year, it is crucial the ‘Protect and Prevent’ message around the importance of vaccinating rabbits against diseases such as Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (RVHD2) are heeded by owners.

“As more vaccines are being sold into veterinary practices we continue to urge rabbit owners to speak with their vet to ensure their pets receive regular vaccinations and health checks which are a vital part of keeping their rabbits healthy and safe.”

PDSA Vet Nurse, Kristiana Shirley, said: “Rabbit Awareness Week provided us with a great opportunity to engage with rabbit owners and raise awareness of the key preventative healthcare our bunnies so vitally need.

“During Rabbit Awareness Week in June, we saw a significant increase in the number of vaccines given when compared to previous months, and an increase in our rabbit MOTs too, which we hope is just the start of a trend which sees more owners protecting their rabbits from preventable, fatal diseases.”

The theme for next year’s Rabbit Awareness Week campaign will be announced at a later date.

For more information on Rabbit Awareness Week, including free access to rabbit CPD, visit www.rabbitawarenessweek.co.uk