B.C. issues rabbit warning after rare disease kills bunnies on Vancouver Island
VICTORIA — Hundreds of feral rabbits in a Vancouver Island community are falling victim to a rare disease that prompted the government to warn people against releasing their long-eared pets into the wild.
British Columbia government veterinarians have confirmed that feral rabbits in Nanaimo are dying from an outbreak of rabbit haemorrhagic disease, a calicivirus that includes a fever, convulsions and kills a rabbit within 36 hours.
Wildlife veterinarian Helen Schwantje said Tuesday the highly infectious and deadly rabbit virus is making its first confirmed appearance in B.C. and third in Canada.
She estimated more than 300 rabbits have died in recent weeks, with most deaths recorded near or at the Nanaimo campus of Vancouver Island University.