Upper respiratory disease in rabbits ranges from mild to life-threatening and requires proactive prevention through appropriate husbandry and vaccination where available.
Rabbit upper respiratory disease causes welfare harm through nasal congestion (eliminating sense of smell critically important for appetite), eye discharge causing corneal irritation, and systemic malaise from infection. Severe Pasteurella pneumonia is life-threatening. Myxomatosis - preventable by vaccination - causes horrific welfare harm through massive skin swellings, blindness from eyelid lesions, and secondary infections that cause prolonged suffering lasting days to weeks before death. The welfare case for myxomatosis vaccination in the UK and Europe is overwhelming - it prevents one of the most distressing rabbit diseases. Good housing ventilation, stress reduction, and prompt veterinary assessment of respiratory signs provide the foundation for respiratory welfare.