Rabbit owners say hundreds of pets are being killed by a virus only ever intended to eradicate wild pests.
One breeder has even put herself into quarantine since the outbreak killed 40 of her animals.
Owners fear the virus may have come from a market gardener's crop spray.
Dutch rabbits Castle and Beckett are like children to Gary Stephenson. Mr Stephenson and wife Davina spent $3000 kitting out their home and the siblings have the run of it.
"They will actually come out of their room sit in front of us when we're on the settee and actually stare at us, as if to say, 'It's our bedtime,'" he says.
Mr Stephenson says pet owners bought carrots from market gardeners they believe sprayed them with RCD or calicivirus. More than 100 treasured pets have died in Auckland alone.
"I didn't know we could be buying vegetables with the virus on, which I think is crazy," says Mr Stephenson.
RCD was released here illegally two decades ago. It was meant to kill feral rabbits devastating thousands of hectares of crops, but Mr Stevenson says it's a slow and painful death.
"They scream. It's like an Ebola. They can bleed at the nose. They can bleed at the mouth. It's not a very nice way to die."
Breeder Karen Yorke lost 40 of her 80 rabbits put herself in quarantine, meaning she can't meet friends in the rabbit world for nearly four months and has to use disinfectant every time she goes out.
"You spend a lot of time crying, especially when they get to be family pets that you like playing with every day and then suddenly they're not there," says Ms Yorke.
The Ministry for Primary Industries said in an email sent Mr Stephenson that RCD is endemic in New Zealand and releasing it is not illegal.
A vaccine against RCD is only 80 percent effective, but of greater concern to pet owners is that a new, more potent strain is already in Australia, and New Zealand authorities want to bring it here. A vaccine for that strain is only available in Europe.
Newshub.
