Rabbit farmers lobby group, the Zimbabwe Commercial Rabbit Breeders Association (Zicorba), has called for an immediate ban on imports of live rabbits from South Africa following the recent outbreak of a deadly rabbit virus in that country.
The Kingdom of Eswatini recently banned imports of live rabbits from South Africa and more countries in Southern Africa may follow suit.
Zicorba President Regis Nyamakanga said a temporary ban of imports of live rabbits from South Africa would help prevent the spread of the Rabbit hemorrhagic Disease (RHD), which broke out in South Africa recently.
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease is fatal in rabbits. It is caused by several virus strains. Animal health officials detected one of these strains, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotype 2 (RHDV2), in North America in the past few years.
The disease has largely been confined to America, Europe and some parts of Asia.
South African authorities recently confirmed the outbreak of RHD in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape provinces, where rabbit deaths due to the disease had been reported.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) said private South African companies had been contacted regarding the importation of monovalent RHDV2 vaccine for use in South Africa.
The DALRRD said this was the first detection of the disease in South Africa, adding that it was still unclear how the disease entered the country since the importation of rabbits was not allowed.
Investigations were still underway to determine whether illegal importation could be the source.
Western Cape Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said biosecurity measures for RHD were very similar to other contagious diseases.
“Any new animals should be kept isolated for two weeks to ensure they are healthy before they are mixed with resident animals.
“People who may have had contact with infected animals should not be allowed on properties with healthy animals and if contact is necessary, they should change clothes, thoroughly wash their hands and arms and disinfect footwear.
Any potentially contaminated equipment or other objects should be cleaned and disinfected with an effective disinfectant,” Meyer told South African media. Mr Nyamakanga said Zicorba was working with the Zimbabwean veterinary authorities to import vaccines, as part of a cocktail of measures to protect the local rabbit industry from the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, leaders of rabbit farmers in Zimbabwe will meet in Masvingo in early September to plot the future of the fastest-growing farming subsector in the southern African country, a top industry official has said.
Zicorba Vice President, Abigail Japajapa, told Bunny World that the Masvingo gathering was expected to come up with a road map for the country’s cuniculture sector.
“We have just had our elections and a new executive has been installed. It is time for the new leadership to reflect on where we are coming from and where we ought to be going as an industry.
We are excited to be partaking in this process,” she said. “Since the formation of Zicorba three years ago, there has been a massive influx of farmers venturing in rabbit production. Consequently, there has been a sharp rise in demand for rabbit meat on the domestic market, which farmers are failing to
meet. We need to close this gap.
“Among other things, the Masvingo retreat will examine ways to ramp up production to meet the insatiable demand on the local market and beyond. It is our conviction that this is the opportune time to devise strategies to take the Zimbabwe rabbit farming subsector to another level,” Mr Japajapa said.
“We see rabbit farming as one of the catalysts for reviving our agriculture industry, through employment creation among women and youth, the general improvement of the livelihoods of our people and the generation of the much-needed foreign currency, especially given the growing interest by a number of
countries to import rabbit meat from Zimbabwe,” she said.
Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe recently visited the country’s sole rabbit abattoir and rabbit meat hub in Harare, and they expressed interest in facilitating exports of rabbit meat to China, which is the largest consumer of the product in the world. China consumes 1 million tonnes of rabbit meat annually.
Mr Japajapa said demand for rabbit meat on the domestic market had increased from just under a tonne per month, about three years ago to more than 10 tonnes per month currently. – The Herald
