§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic disease amongst the wild rabbit population and on the availability of vaccines to treat it.
§ Mrs. BrowningViral haemorrhagic disease has been confirmed as the cause of death of four wild rabbits whose bodies were found near Tenterden in Kent—one—and Exeter in Devon—three. The presence of VHD in our wild rabbit population had been suspected for some time but only recently confirmed. The disease has been notifiable in Great Britain since 1991 and a total of 50 outbreaks in domestic and commercial rabbits have been confirmed up to 24 October this year. There were 10 outbreaks in 1993.
No vaccines to protect rabbits against VHD, are currently licensed for use in the United Kingdom. Two applications for licenses have however now been received by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and are urgently being assessed under the provisional licence arrangements that came into effect on 8 September 1994.
VHD is endemic in all rabbits, including wild rabbits, in much of the rest of Europe.