Our house bunnies are in danger. Please authorize the new Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2) vaccine by Medgene Labs in Brookings, SD, which has gained emergency approval by the USDA in late September as soon as possible: https://medgenelabs.com/rhdv2-vaccine 

26 states including Rhode Island have already approved the use of the vaccine and the company started shipping it out to veterinarians. Massachusetts veterinarians can still not order the vaccine and our bunnies remain vulnerable.

The following facts demonstrate the urgency of the situation: 
- The current strain of the disease has a 70-90% fatality rate https://rabbit.org/rhdv 
- While there have been isolated cases of RHDV2 in the US prior to Spring 2020, including an outbreak at a Manhattan vet clinic in 2019, the first confirmed cases of the Southwest outbreak were detected in March 2020 in Arizona and New Mexico.    - Shortly thereafter, it was confirmed that the disease had spread into the wild rabbit and hare population in the Southwest, leading to rapid spread. Now, about 18 months later, the disease has covered most of the Southwest region and has been detected in the South and Midwest. At this point, New England remains one of the only regions in the country without confirmed cases. However, this doesn’t mean that our bunnies are not at risk.  
- In the last 3, months there have been multiple cases of pet or shelter rabbits dying from the disease in the United States and Canada, in areas of no previously known or confirmed RHDV2 cases.  
Here are few examples: 
- In September of 2021, indoor pet rabbits belonging to a Minnesota veterinarian died of RHDV2. The rabbits, a lionhead and holland lop, supposedly had no known contact with other rabbits, and the owner took all necessary precautions. 
Also, in September of 2021, pet rabbits in Mississippi died of RHDV2. No further information was released other than that there was no known connection to other rabbits.
- Other isolated outbreaks affecting indoor pet rabbits were reported from Alberta, Canada, in April of 2021, as well as recently in August 2021 in Fresno, CA (while in the Southwest, this location is outside of areas with known outbreaks.) In both cases, the rabbits had no known contact with other rabbits, and the owners were aware of RHDV2 and what precautions to take.
- The most significant and concerning outbreak occurred in July 2021 in Georgia (Cobb County), where RHDV2 hit a shelter run by the House Rabbit Society, resulting in euthanasia of many rabbits who had been rescued from a hording case. This case demonstrates what the disease will mean for rabbit rescues if no protection is available.

The isolated nature and severity of above cases clearly demonstrates why we cannot take this threat lightly even without a known outbreak in New England at this time. When availability of imported European vaccines (Filivac and Erivac) was limited, it made sense to focus on providing vaccination options within the most affected areas of the country, the Southwest specifically. However, now with Medgene’s domestic vaccine, there should be enough available for every bunny in need to be vaccinated, including those in states without known outbreaks.

Please sing this petition if you are looking to get your bunnies vaccinated.