Bunny Boilers

It has been suggested that a tradition of burying deceased pet rabbits in the garden can facilitate the spread of Rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RVHD2) to wild populations of bunnies (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/31/pet-owners-warned-over-deadly-virus-killing-rabbits-across-the-uk). The highly contagious disease (which causes often undetected internal bleeding) may be picked up by pets from bird droppings or transported on shoes or vehicle tyres. The virus is also capable of surviving for moths in the soil in this country. Deceased pets are only infrequently examined for the infective agent.