Any Rabbit advice ?

ariba10

I would go down the cold water route.

Cats will kill, just for the sake of it.

Sneezy

Thanks, we'll have to try that next time!

Hectors_House

I work in the middle of nowhere on a business park that abuts a large country park.

We've been used to seeing wild rabbits, hares, stoats over the years but numbers have dwindled as they realise it isn't safe with all the cars.

As we were driving out of the park I spotted a rabbit hugging the kerb around one of the traffic islands.

I always like to check any animals I see in case they are still alive and I can get them to the vet. This little fellow was - just.

I've never seen myxomatosis before.

The poor animal couldn't open it's eyes. They were streaming and closed shut with a thick crust so it couldn't see how to get away from the cars whizzing around the island.

I picked it up and popped it into my shopping bag and got it away from the traffic to have a better look. That's when I decided not to just release it and have just got back from my local PDSA where they put the poor creature to sleep.

So the local council must be trying to thin out the population....and leaving the poor creatures to die a slow death that can take up to 14 days to kill the rabbit.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Surely there must be a kinder way of controlling the population then this.

zzzLazyDaisy

Mixy is awful. The problem is that is can be passed down through generations. Well done you for looking after this wee chap

elsien

Endemic in some places though. My brother lives in Cumbria and there's lots of them round there.
Without wanting to sound callous, if the dog catches one and it's too ill/injured to let go, it's a stamp on the head job.

daveski

It's bad this year for mixxy. No kind way to do it, but at least it was quicker.

chez22

Myxy doesn't have anything to do with the council, it is endemic in wild rabbit populations and usually goes in cycles. Where I work there is a large rabbit population and there are always rabbits with myxy at certain times of the year. At least this rabbit didn't have to suffer a slow death, good for you for helping.

KVet

Its def not the council! They dont just have stocks of Myxi to spread out as and when necessary! It just happens in certain areas and spreads, like any nornal virus like the common cold etc. Horrible condition, hardly any recover, you did the right thing

Hectors_House

Thanks guys for putting my mind at rest re the local council being behind it.

That's so sad that it can be passed on down the generations.

This little fellow wasn't very old and was fiesty when I picked him up but it was when I saw the eyes I realised he hadn't been hit by a car.

I'll get an email out to colleagues at work to watch out for any more cases as we have the hares and rabbits coming through the fence and hanging around our smoking shelter cus the security guards feed them scraps from the canteen!

lowis

my friend has a farm and she gets lots of rabbits on her land...sometimes they get affected by mixy, as soon as she sees that they have the disease she shoots them - she told me what mixy does and i think her quick method of despatch is much less cruel (she is a very good shot).