We've received some truly distressing reports from several parts of the country about outbreaks of Myxomatosis. Both wild and pet rabbits are affected, and of course the unvaccinated ones don't stand a chance.
Please ensure your rabbits' vaccinations are up to date. The new combined vaccine is reported to give a higher level of protection than the old vaccine could, and protects against VHD at the same time. Far more vets have it in stock now, and it only needs to be given once a year.
This time of year is always bad for mosquitoes, which are suspected of being one of the major ways the disease is spread, and the very wet conditions we've had over the summer have made the mosquito population huge. This means the risk of exposure to the illness is even higher than ever.
Mosquitoes breed in water. If you have any standing water in your garden that you can't get rid of, put a tiny amount of washing up liquid into it. This won't harm any fish or amphibians that live in it, but will smother the mosquito larvae.