Annual vaccines necessary?

[euxiomoniia]

Quick backstory before we get started, i come from a somewhat anti-vaccine family which means our pets are only vaccinated on the absolute non-negotiables. I don’t see anything wrong with this as we have never had health issues with them and prefer to use alternative medicines. However, I’m new to owning rabbits and am unsure what to do about the whole vaccination situation. My rescued male angora came from a horrible living situation and has been vaccinated (as a baby) and neutered but I’m unsure if the annual ones have been kept up to date. I also recently got a 4/5 month old lop who is going for her first vaccines next week. The issues is that I’m not entirely sure how to discuss this whole situation as I know many people and vets are against our way of thinking.

I want to make it clear that should medical attention ever be required for our pets we 100% take them in, however for issues like worming, fleas etc we prefer to use natrual non medical alternatives. Personally I don’t feel annual vaccines are necessary but when it comes to my rabbits I’m not quite sure what to think.

Though this comes down to various factors. One being that it seems excessive/unnecessary to be carried out yearly on top of all other costs. I have enough saved for vet bills but I don’t love the possible cons that vaccines come with.

If anyone has advice or able to educate me more on this issue it would be greatly appreciated. Just please be kind because I know this is a somewhat controversial topic.

 

[Scrappy's Little Helper]

Hi there,

Assuming that you're in the UK, then the short answer is that it is absolutely essential that your rabbits get their annual vaccination boosters.

The vaccines provide the best protection for your bunnies against myxomatosis and Vhd 1 and vhd 2. No vaccine is ever going to 100% guarantee that a rabbit won't get those diseases, but vaccinated rabbits have a much better chance of survival and recovery should they be unfortunate enough to contract them. I don't know the exact numbers off the top of my head, but the mortality rate in unvaccinated rabbits is extremely high (around 90 to 95% I believe).

Myxomatosis and vhd are truly awful diseases and not something you would want your bunnies to get. I really do urge you not to let their vaccinations lapse.

 

[Shimmer]

Hi there,

Assuming that you're in the UK, then the short answer is that it is absolutely essential that your rabbits get their annual vaccination boosters.

The vaccines provide the best protection for your bunnies against myxomatosis and Vhd 1 and vhd 2. No vaccine is ever going to 100% guarantee that a rabbit won't get those diseases, but vaccinated rabbits have a much better chance of survival and recovery should they be unfortunate enough to contract them. I don't know the exact numbers off the top of my head, but the mortality rate in unvaccinated rabbits is extremely high (around 90 to 95% I believe).

Myxomatosis and vhd are truly awful diseases and not something you would want your bunnies to get. I really do urge you not to let their vaccinations lapse.

Exactly this. Unvaccinated rabbits have no chance against RHD or myxomatosis. Often the first sign of a problem is a dead rabbit, so there's no point in relying on treating any symptoms. A rabbit showing symptoms is a very poorly rabbit anyway. Prey animals hide any signs of illness.

It's a single combined vaccination every year. That includes rabbits that live indoors only. These viruses don't bother with walls and will wipe out whole groups of rabbits at a time.

Rabbit vaccinations are the only ones that I'm really keen on not lapsing at it - it's not worth the risk. Cats and dogs I do tend to slip a bit (maybe a month), but never rabbits. As it takes a couple of weeks or so for immunity to develop after vaccination, you can't rely on vaccinating when there are confirmed cases in the area, either, and you really don't know when you've picked it up.

 

[InspectorMorse]

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/vaccines/