BASIC HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS
One of the veterinarian's major responsibilities is to provide a preventative medicine program for research animals. There are several aspects to a sound program.
Animals should be purchased only from reliable vendors that can provide healthy animals. The veterinarian should work closely with owners of a small rabbitry to assure quality if animals are obtained locally. Large well established vendors are available that will provide health status reports of their rabbit colonies.
Animals should be quarantined long enough to establish their health status. This will also allow animals to become acclimated to their new environment. Periodic necropsy of representative animals with parasitiological, serological and microbiological monitoring will help determine quality.