Calicivirus

It is now three months since the outbreak of Calicivirus which killed five of my rabbits here so I am officially out of quarantine. I have disinfected all the outside hutches and left them in the sun and want to begin on the rabbitry cages before the cold weather hits. I am still pretty nervous whenever I go out there in the morning- those ten days watching the virus go through was pretty tough as an animal would look fine one minute and a couple of hours later would be found dead. The virus swept right up the country from the deep South towards Auckland killing vaccinated and unvaccinated animals alike. Of the five I lost three were old, one had been having antibiotic treatment and the last was sharing a hutch with his sister who was unaffected.

RCD is a nasty disease illegally introduced to New Zealand by a few red neck farmers who mixed it up in kitchen blenders after the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries had declined it's introduction. Now the Regional Councils are applying to import a "pure" form of the virus for release in July 2005. The Hawkes Bay Regional Council is not part of this move. The Pest Control officer informed me that they don't want to interfere with the strain currently here which they feel is doing a good job. The worst thing the government ever did was disbanding the Rabbit Board as it left farmers at the mercy of the rabbits and faced with huge bills for poisoning etc. I can understand why they celebrate the virus but it did finish rabbit farming in New Zealand. Unfortunately the vaccine costs $30 per animal as it must be administered by a vet unlike Australia where the owner can vaccinate for $3! I am pretty anti vaccinations usually (as it must depress the natural immune system) but in some cases you have no choice. In the meantime I give all my animals a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar once weekly to build up their systems. I am trying to find a garlic crusher now so I can add this to their drinking water as well. Anything to keep them healthy naturally as I feel this is the only way to go.