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Found wild rabbit with myxomatisis - advice please

J

jamp

Young Bun
Hi All

A sad story for you I'm afraid. This evening I noticed a rabbit being very still but alive sat very close to the side of the road. I had a closer look and its eyes are closed and coat looks a bit moth eaten. It was moving a little and flinching when traffic went by. I would call the RSPCA but my problem is that the rabbit is in the Netherlands, and I don't know the name of the Dutch equivalent (although I know it exists).

What can I do to help this bun? If it stays still (it did for the 30 mins I was there) it won't come to harm unless a predator finds it. I didn't want to terrify it by moving it but having done a little googling it seems sometimes they can survive myxi so it could be worth it.

What do you suggest? I don't want to leave the poor thing suffering, especially as this isn't natural suffering thanks to this abhorrent disease :censored: Please can anyone advise (quickly)?
 
Is there a local vet you can ring and ask to go and confirm it's myxi? If it is it's kindest to pts. If not, then I don't think there's a lot you can do for it.. certainly don't bring it home or anywhere near your rabbits, which I know sounds awful but sadly if it has myxi you don't want it to spread to your bunnies..

Poor rabbit :cry:
 
If you drop it off at the vets they will euthanise it. Rabbits don't stand much chance unvaccinated and they need intensive nursing which isn't practical on a wild animal.

Make sure if you do go near it you disinfect before going near any pets.

Tam
 
i would try n get it ina box and take it to an emergancy vet..so its not suffering and doesnt get run over
 
Thanks for the quick replies. Do you think it's kinder to take the rabbit to the vet (pretty scary for a wild animal) to pts or let nature take its course?

PS. I don't have a pet rabbit in NL but thanks for the concern.
 
Also is it best to remove the bun or its corpse so the rest of the rabbit population aren't exposed to infection from it? Can anyone help with contact info for Dutch RSPCA?
 
definately kinder to take it to a vet. I have watched many rabits die of myxi when i was a little girl and leaving them to suffer is unfair. My dad used to break their necks on the spot (sorry but we did live MILES out in the country) but obviously i am not suggesting that, just that its kinder to have them PTS than suffer to death.
 
found wild rabbit with myxi

Take the poor little one to your vets and they will PTS:cry:such an evil disiese:evil:poor poor bunny:cry:
 
Kinder to pts for this little bunny. What an evil disease it is :evil:

Jasonbunny - my dad used to do the same (and to any of his own rabbits that were ill :evil:) but it is still kinder to break it's neck or shoot it than to leave it to die a horrible death.
 
take it to the vet asap I had to do that several months ago when my daughter brought home a wild bun. Poor thing was in a sorry state, thankfully the vet pts straight away
 
Thanks for the replies.

I went back, half hoping someone else (who speaks Dutch!) would have taken care of the poor thing, but that wasn't the case and rabbit was now on the road itself huddled by the kerb. I tried to pick it up and realised it also had a broken hind leg so perhaps had been hit by car (still think it has myxi too) but even so I couldn't grab it quickly enough and it got away. Fortunately it moved away from the road to relative safety, but unfortunately right next to a deep ditch and was teetering on the edge so I knew if I tried to catch it again it'd go straight in. Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing for it but I still couldn't bare to make it happen. After a lot of ringing round and asking neighbours who might help out a rabbit in need, I got the number of an English speaking animal ambulance crew who say they'll try to pick it up this evening. I can't help but get the feeling they were just shutting me up as it took some persuading to let me give them an accurate location and gps coordinates, and they didn't want to give me a time so I could be there to show them. I hope they will do their best to find and help it.

Sorry for such a downbeat thread. Thanks for your help.
 
I work on a children's farm but unfortunately any rabbits that are found with myxi have to be killed. It is the only solution with so many wild rabbits and the domestic farm rabbits. It also prevents any further suffering.
 
jamp said:
Thanks for the replies.

I went back, half hoping someone else (who speaks Dutch!) would have taken care of the poor thing, but that wasn't the case and rabbit was now on the road itself huddled by the kerb. I tried to pick it up and realised it also had a broken hind leg so perhaps had been hit by car (still think it has myxi too) but even so I couldn't grab it quickly enough and it got away. Fortunately it moved away from the road to relative safety, but unfortunately right next to a deep ditch and was teetering on the edge so I knew if I tried to catch it again it'd go straight in. Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing for it but I still couldn't bare to make it happen. After a lot of ringing round and asking neighbours who might help out a rabbit in need, I got the number of an English speaking animal ambulance crew who say they'll try to pick it up this evening. I can't help but get the feeling they were just shutting me up as it took some persuading to let me give them an accurate location and gps coordinates, and they didn't want to give me a time so I could be there to show them. I hope they will do their best to find and help it.

Sorry for such a downbeat thread. Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

sadly if a wild bun has mxyi it needs to be put out of its misery if the ambulance crew cant get there then i would attempt to catch it again if it was me. i couldnt sleep knowing id left it. if the ditc not to bad mayb you could climb down after it(should it fall in) and retrieve it take a carrier or cardboard box as this is easier.this suffering will otherwise go on for weeks or days and no it is not kinder to leave it ther as a predator will eventually get it and start to eat it alive sorry that sounds so evil and harsh but it really needs rescuing and then being pts binky free wild bun we hope you suffer as little as possible.
 
I was in the same situation last year and i caught the rabbit which was in the middle of a main road (goodness knows how it got their) and i took it to the vet to be pts, it was dark at this point and when we got into the light the poor thing looked awful and was near to death, i cried a lot but felt so relieved knowing the poor wee thing was out its misery.
I hope you can catch it and help this little one.
xx
 
I will do all I can Bunlover but it's nearly 11pm here so even if I caught the rabbit I wouldn't be able to get it to a vet until tomorrow in my lunch break. The ditch/dyke had water in it and was a good 8 feet deep so I would have struggled to get the bun out if it had fallen in.

I'm working temporarily in the Netherlands so haven't needed/noticed any vets unfortunately. Tomorrow I can ask a colleague to give me a vet's address and if I find the bun and can catch it of course I will take it. I will take some towels to work as that may make catching easier. A suitable cardboard box is already in the car. For tonight though it's best chance is the ambulance crew.
 
One day on my way to work I saw a rabbit with myxi just sitting on the grass verge next to the road. The moment I saw it I knew what was wrong. I stopped the car and walked up to it and touched it and it didn't move. The poor thing was out of it and in a shocking state.

I actually put it out of its misery there and then and I won't apologise for it. There was no way I could prolong the animals suffering by taking X amount of time to find a vets etc.

It was over in a split second and I know I did the right thing. Broke my heart, and I cried all the way to work, but I know I did the right thing.

Myxi....it's horrific :(
 
The bun is gone this morning so I hope the ambulance crew found it and eased its suffering. Lspacehopper I know that would have been the kindest thing to do really but I didn't have any available 'tools' and couldn't bear to do it with my bare hands. This rabbit was still lucid and able to move so made things more difficult.
 
I lose count of the amount of myxi rabbits Ive found. All you can ever do is catch them and take them to a vet. One sunday night I found one and took it to my friend who is a butcher so he could kill it humanely - I just can't bring myself to do it!
As long as your buns are vaccinated there is minimal risk of transfering infection, especially if you wash hands and clothes etc.
Vets are dutybound to take injured wildlife and treat for free, so it will never cost, I just wish more people knew that.

I find them on the roadsides a lot, they leave their groups when they get really sick, and find it hard to pick their way through undergrowth so migrate towards open ground - generally roads or verges. Generally they get hit too because they can't see, so they best case is always to have them PTS because once they are slow enough to catch they are too far gone to save. :cry::cry:

I hate this disease, what a horrendous way to die. :evil: how they ever got the license to knowingly inflict such suffering on millions of animals in a 'pet loving' country I will never know.:evil:
 
i will never understand how they couldnt find any other humane way to control rabbit numbers. I f a country was over crowded with people they would never have released such an awful disease to cull the population...just goes to show how many people think animals are worth nothing, and have no rights. :censored:
 
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