Melanie Lapich, from New South Wales, Australia, recently lost her two pet bunnies to Myxomatosis. When the vet had initially diagnosed the rabbits, Melanie did her best to treat their symptoms. But soon, the lumps on the skin, swollen, oozing eyelids, labored breathing, and lack of appetite became too severe, and the rabbits had to be put to sleep.

So Melanie is on a quest to legalize the vaccine for Myxomatosis in Australia. Currently, the vaccine is in use in the UK. (See My House Rabbit Myxomatosis vaccination article here.) Since Australia has a major ecological issue with wild European rabbits destroying native plantlife and crowding out native wildlife, the Australian government has so far refused to legalize the vaccine for domestic rabbits in fear that resistance to the disease may eventually spread to wild rabbit populations.

But for pet owners like Melanie, it means there is little hope for prevention of this incurable disease for their pets. If you would like to sign the petition to legalize the vaccine, go here: www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/make-myxomatosis-vaccine-legal.html

For more information: www.myxomatosis-vaccine.com

Now is the time when many rescues get a lot of unwanted rabbits. It’s been just long enough after Easter that bunnies that were bought for the holiday start to lose their charm with people who didn’t have accurate expectations of owning a pet rabbit. And so the bunny gets “set free” in the wild or placed in shelters.

Bonnie Pulver of Dance with the Bunnies Rabbit Rescue in Greenville, NC has tried to curb this trend by passing out informational flyers and directing people to Make Mine Chocolate. She runs a foster home for bunnies out of her house through the Friends of the Pitt County Animal Shelter. And while “bounce-back bunnies” are less than ideal, she would prefer people relinquish their unwanted pets to a no-kill rescue/shelter rather than setting them loose in the wild, where they have little chance of survival.

According to Pulver, “Turning them loose does not set them free. It makes them food. That white bunny has no security in the wild … They are on the very bottom of the food chain.”

For more information, visit: http://www.bunspace.com/view_bunny?bunid=3547 http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/05/05/RabbitRescue.html

Nominated in the category of Animation, 30-Second Bunny Theatre was not only the Webby Award Winner, it was also the People’s Voice Winner.

For more info: http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?media_id=97&season=12
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/05/bunny-parodies.html

A community of rabbits have decided to make a cemetery in Avila, Spain their home. Their elaborate warren is destroying grave sites, and local residents are calling on government officials to put a stop to the rabbits’ destructive activity.

For more info: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_16135.shtml

Cuddle Bunnies, an English charity that provides therapeutic healing through petting bunnies, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. The charity began when founder Sue Horsman brought her 6-month-old house-trained rabbit to visit her seriously ill uncle in the Bexhill Hospital in Sussex, England.

Now the charity has 9 adult members and 7 junior members with 2 more in training. The group cheers up patients at hospitals and care homes, and they also help children. Cuddle Bunnies works with autistic children and visits schools and youth organizations teaching kids how to look after their pets. According to Horsman, “There are so many things we can do to help autistic children. It helps to give them confidence.”

For more info: http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/494/Cuddle-Bunnies-Fair.3979123.jp

Brokeback Mountain buns, a creation of Angry Alien Productions, has been nominated for a Webby Award in the category of Animation. 30 Second Bunnies Theatre features movies parodied and re-enacted by cartoon bunnies in 30 seconds. The online series was created by Jennifer Shiman, who releases one new re-enactment per month.

In perusing the site, I also found the section entitled, Amy’s Diary (Dairy), to be hilarious. While it doesn’t feature bunnies, it is worth clicking the entry dates. You’ll encounter narrations and illustrations that accompany excerpts from Amy Forstadt’s REAL third grade diary.

Jody Caizza has run Kind Heart Rescue for 20 years out of her log cabin home, which is located on 14 wooded acres in Cream Ridge, NJ. Her rescue provides sanctuary to homeless dogs and rabbits. Devoting 35 hours/week to caring for the animals and contributing $5000-$10,000 of the necessary $20,000/year it takes to maintain the rescue, Caizza’s love for animals is unquestionable.

For more info: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/LIFE05/80403079/1006/LIFE
http://www.kindheartrescue.com/

Parents will be hardpressed to resist these adorable bunny scooters from Mahar Drygoods for $180.00. The scooters are made to order by Roebuck Studio of Chelsea, MI in an environmentally-friendly way. You can either select a color from a wide range of choices for the two bunny cutouts, or you can choose a clear finish to let the natural wood coloring shine though.

For more info, see:
www.mahardrygoods.com
www.roebuckstudio.com

The Midwest Rabbit Rescue & Re-home finished in 6th place- a dramatic comeback from their ranking of 21 just a few days ago. Zootoo will continue to validate all the points all the shelters received, so their current ranking may shift a bit. Next, a panel of judges from Zootoo will visit each shelter and make their decision who is to be the first place winner of a million dollar shelter makeover! Second place will receive $10,000 and the other 18 contestants will receive $5000 each. Congratulations Midwest Rabbit Rescue & Re-home!

Zootoo.com’s contest for the million dollar shelter makeover ends tomorrow (3/31/08) at midnight. Help put Midwest Rabbit Rescue back in the top 20 (they are currently ranked 21) by registering on Zootoo using this link: http://www.zootoo.com/register/referrer/midwestrabbitrr

Then, under the heading, Affiliate with a Shelter, type in the zipcode, 48170, and select Midwest Rabbit Rescue and Re-home from the dropdown menu. This will earn them 200 points.

Midwest Rabbit Rescue is the only rabbit rescue close to making it into the top 20 (which is required to be eligible for the million dollar makeover). So all you bunny lovers out there, register with Zootoo, and get all your friends to register as well!