Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.

Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Rabbit Awareness Week marks 20th anniversary
This year's campaign promotes 'colourful, fibre-first feeding'.
The campaign is refreshing its logo and mascots.

Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW) is to return this June, with a special campaign marking 20 years of improving rabbit welfare.

The campaign, which runs from 22 June to 29 June, will explore the theme ‘Feeding Bunnies Better’. It hopes to improve understanding about rabbit diets, encouraging ‘colourful, fibre-first feeding’.

Led by Burgess Excel, RAW will provide clear practical guidance to help rabbit owners with their pet’s nutrition. The campaign will encourage pet owners to move away from muesli-style mixes for a fibre-first diet, with hay as a 85-90 per cent of daily food intake.

To mark its milestone anniversary, RAW will also unveil its refreshed look and feel. 

The updated logo features two rabbits, reflecting the importance of companionship and compatible pairings. Meanwhile the campaign mascots, Hayley and Binky, have been reimagined with realistic, everyday scenarios to bring key welfare messages to their audiences.

Rabbit Awareness Week is led by a number of welfare organisations and industry experts, including Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund, Burgess Excel and Blue Cross. Now in its 20th year, the campaign has developed a legacy for promoting good rabbit care.

Suzanne Moyes, deputy managing director and in-house vet at Burgess Pet Care, said: “While rabbit welfare has improved significantly over the last two decades, diet remains one of the most common areas of misunderstanding among owners. Rabbits have very specific nutritional needs, and getting this right is fundamental to their overall health and wellbeing. 
 
“Through this year’s campaign, we want to simplify what ‘good’ looks like, to help owners build healthier, more natural diets that support everything from dental health to digestion and behaviour.”

The campaign can be followed on Facebook and Instagram, with more information about available on its website.

Image © OlhaTsiplyar/Shutterstock.com

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Annual submission deadline small pet animal exemptions

News Story 1
 Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.

Submitting this annual return ensures continued compliance with regulatory requirements for products marketed without a full Marketing Authorisation. The exemption specifically applies to products intended for animals, cage birds, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits.

For further details and submission guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.  

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue RZ extended across Scotland

The Scottish Government has announced an extension to a Bluetongue Restricted Zone that is in place in south-west Scotland.

From 3 October, the Restricted Zone will be extended to cover the whole of Scotland. The Animal, Plant and Health Agency (APHA) says this is in response to further disease spread, as well as simplify trading conditions ahead of the autumn.

Since the whole country will share a disease status, it will no longer be necessary to have a movement license to move susceptible livestock around the country. Restrictions on germinal products remain.

As of 1 October 2026, there were 1,979 cases of BTV-3 in England, 389 cases in Wales and 40 cases in Scotland.