SPCA concerned about rabbit calicivirus affect on pets

The SPCA is concerned that more domestic and farm breeding rabbits will die when the rabbit-killing calicivirus is released to control the wild population.

Calicivirus was released illegally into New Zealand in 1997 in a bid to combat feral rabbit infestation.

The SPCA said domestic and farm breeding rabbits were still dying on a frequent basis as a result of that illegal importation. With a new virus strengthened for legal release, perhaps in the next few months, the death rate of domestic and farm breeding rabbits was bound to rise.

Northland Federated Farmers boss Bill Guest said wild rabbits numbers were currently higher than they had been for several years and they needed to be dealt to.

If people wanted to keep rabbits they had to take responsibility and "vaccinate the bloody things against calicivirus," he said.

SPCA national chief executive Robyn McDonald advised breeders and owners to make sure their rabbits are vaccinated against calicivirus but says it is unreasonable that rabbit owners should foot the bill when farmers would benefit.

Stocks of calicivirus are being bought from Australia and areas targeted for released include Awhitu, Karaka, Omaha and Great Barrier Island.

Northland Regional Council land operations manager Bob Cathcart said rabbit breeders and owners of pet rabbits should have been vaccinating their rabbits anyway as calicivirus had remained in Northland since its last legal release from 2000-02.

NRC's biosecurity officer Carl Cooper said it was still unclear when the virus would arrive in Northland and strict controls would be put in place when it did.

Mr Cathcart said calicivirus was an effective tool to keep rabbit numbers down, alongside shooting and poisoning.

The NRC was one of 10 regional councils who applied to the Environmental Risk Management Agency (Erma) to import the Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease, known as RHD or rabbit calicivirus, a process that cost $50,000.

Erma approved the application with controls recently.

The virus would be imported from Australia, but exactly by who and when remained unclear, Mr Cooper said.

"We are waiting for someone to put their hands up and say they will do the importing and selling of it," he said.

- Northern Advocate