The Ministry of Agriculture is advising the pet rabbit owners in the South Island who are concerned about the possibility of their pets contracting rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) to have them vaccinated.

The advice follows the death from RCD of three pet rabbits in one hutch on property in a Dunedin residential suburb. The property is about a kilometre from the nearest farmland.

Possible sources of infection are contaminated feed or hay, humans carrying the virus on clothing or shoes, or insect vectors.

Vaccinations are available through registered veterinarians. Rabbits are immunised at about two and a half to three months of age. If they are under two and a half months of age, they should be revaccinated every three weeks until they reach three months. In all other cases a single dose is given. The timing of vaccination is critical because maternal antibodies, which are passed on by mothers to their young, confer temporary immunity, but can inactivate the vaccine. At two and a half to three months, most of the maternal antibodies in young rabbits have disappeared.

Healthy animals over three months may have lifelong immunity, but an annual booster is also recommended.

Rabbit owners can also take other steps to help minimise the risk of spread to their pets, such as using appropriate insect mesh around hutches. Insect strips or repellents are also a good idea.

They should also eliminate contact with outside rabbits, avoid contact with other peoples' rabbits or hutches, not share equipment with other rabbit owners and decontaminate any equipment which is in doubt using bleach or strong disinfectants, and not use feed that may have been in contact with other wild or domestic rabbits.