Rabbit owners across the country are being urged to ensure their pets are protected, as authorities prepare to release a new strain of the deadly calicivirus.

The virus was first released into Australia in 1996 to manage pest rabbits and a new Korean strain known as RHDV1 K5 will be nationally released across nearly 1,000 sites from next week.

Quentin Hart from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries said owners of pet rabbits should check with their vet if they are concerned.

"We would hope that rabbit owners would already have their calicivirus vaccination schedule up to date," he said.

"There has been an existing strain of calicivirus in the environment for a couple of decades.

"This strain is very closely related to that strain and we therefore expect that the existing vaccine will be effective against this new strain."

It is hoped the new strain of calicivirus will kill around 20 per cent of the country's feral rabbits. ( Supplied: DAFWA/Rick Nash )

Mr Hart said pet owners should not assume their homes and backyards will be safe from the virus.

"We're obviously expecting this virus to spread from the initial release points," he said.

"The virus can be spread [by insects] and if those insects get carried around by the wind the virus may spread fairly rapidly.

"So even if you're a pet owner and you're not near the initial release sites you need to assume the virus may arrive in your part of the world soon after the release."

Insects can quickly spread calicivirus across vast distances. ( Supplied: DAFWA/Brian Lukins )

While the first version of the calicivirus wiped out more than 90 per cent of feral rabbits in Australia, the new Korean strain is expected to kill about 20 per cent of those left in the wild.

"There are no silver bullets in pest management," Mr Hart said.

"This [new] strain is expected to be more effective in cooler, wetter parts of Australia than the existing strain.

"It won't be quite as dramatic as what happened in the mid-90s with the first release of the calicivirus. But we're hoping that the combination of the two strains will continue to suppress rabbit populations."