The future for rabbits

[rspcarabbits]

This really follows on from the P@H thread but not P@H if you see what I mean.

It really concerns how people see that rabbits will be kept,obtained, rescued and sold in say 35-40yrs time.

Will it be much the same as it is now?. We have some major rescues such as the rspca, Blue Cross ect + numerous independant rescues + one major pet shop chain just starting on the rescue front.

On the selling front at present we have major pet shops, garden centers, breeders of all types. How will this change and will there be any new players?

On the keeping front what will become the norm?

One thing I would add is this is not what we want to happen but what we think is likely or possible.

We obviously have our own views which we have mentioned in the other thread and no doubt will reiterate some of it in this together with other observations and predictions. But what do you think?

What is "The future for rabbits"

[abbymarysmokey]

IMHO rabbits will gradually gain a similar status to cats and dogs...people will spend increasing amounts of money on them to buy proper housing and veterinary care. Neutering and vaccinations will become the norm.

Breeding will continue...of both quality pedigree rabbits, and those from back yard breeders. I don't see how this can be stopped or even controlled (unless councils bring in laws to limit the number of pets per household).

I'm slightly more hopeful that the number of rabbits sold in pet shops will drop...maybe because future council regulations will demand more space per animal, and it will prove to be unprofitable for pet shops to stock them?

Amy

[MaxiandScottandbuns]

Im actually pretty hopeful that pet shop sales of rabbits will stop altogether, and i dont find it entirely unlikely

Also i think peoples awareness WILL rise, like it is about the rights and care of all animals, and there will be more neutering and less backyard breeding to make a quick fiver

I also think it wont be seen as weird to have bunnies hopping around your house anymore:D

Im an optimist!

[blueboy]

I just have one question. IF pet shops stopped selling rabbits, how would breeders rehome them? I am not in favor or against pet shops but I am very interested in how people on here would like to see the cycle go.

[donnamt]

i think if awareness continues to be raised, with the hard work and dedication of rescues, websites like this one, the RSPCA and even vets training in the field of exotics, rabbits will become just like cats and dogs and treated properly by the majority... chances are just like cats and dogs there will still be too many looking for homes and being destroyed :cry: but the ones who do have homes will be treated with love and respect and not banished to a tiny lonely hutch way down the bottom of the garden.

A bloke i work with said when he was a child (40 odd years ago) yearly vaccinations for dogs and cats was unheard of and now its a standard.

[RusselRocky]

I would like to think that the breeders might sell them themselves or if pet shops are still about you will be able to visit the breeder and/or contact them. At least then you know where they are coming from!?? :roll:

[nursecroft]

Well i assume they would be advertised and sold in the same way as cats or dogs, at the place of breeding.

[blueboy]

Well i assume they would be advertised and sold in the same way as cats or dogs, at the place of breeding.

I agree. But there are so many people against that…such as freeads. Newspapers are just the same. I suppose they could set up something like for dogs with the kennel club with all breeders on there. I know rabbits have the BRC but a lot of breeders don’t have websites and a lot of telephone numbers have been disconnected. I think more breeders should have pro websites and I think maybe the BRC should be updated more often.

[Raven Rexs]

i would like to see petshops recomend a decent breeder/rescue with in thier area and the breeder/rescue not have to pay to be on the regiester:D

[MaxiandScottandbuns]

Well directly themselves, through adverts in the paper, through rescues etc...i mean my hopes for this go far, im actualy hoping therll be a lot more rescues and a lot more help in this area so those the breeders would need to get homes for would have a much better chance. Then a large majority wouldnt breed anymore (i mean your backyard careless breeding of "pet" bunnies for a fiver kind of thing here, not breeders of pedigrees for showing or bettering the breed)

I think theres quite a strong chance this will happen

[davies67]

i genuinely feel that a lot of animals are not properly cared for, here we are immersed in rabbit tales but i would hope in the future that more laws will be made regarding general animal lifestlye ie hutch size, ammounts of feood etc,i think homechecks should be a prerequisite of owning an animal and that people who breed animals ought to have a license.i just think that as a nation of animmal lovers a lot of people dont mean to treat animals badly but there is not enough widespread knowledge of behaviours etc. One of the animals that i think is seriously upsetting is the horse after working with monty roberts for years, they are an animal that recieves a lot of money but still the issue of saddle fitting etc is badly misunderstood ie our weight/muscle tone fluctuates over the year so we wear different clothes yet they get fitted once for a saddle and are expected to wear that sometimes for years when treeless saddles are widly available but people dont want to pay extra. I just hope in a few years people will be made to take their animals more seriously through law enforcement

[nursecroft]

i genuinely feel that a lot of animals are not properly cared for, here we are immersed in rabbit tales but i would hope in the future that more laws will be made regarding general animal lifestlye ie hutch size, ammounts of feood etc,i think homechecks should be a prerequisite of owning an animal and that people who breed animals ought to have a license.i just think that as a nation of animmal lovers a lot of people dont mean to treat animals badly but there is not enough widespread knowledge of behaviours etc. One of the animals that i think is seriously upsetting is the horse after working with monty roberts for years, they are an animal that recieves a lot of money but still the issue of saddle fitting etc is badly misunderstood ie our weight/muscle tone fluctuates over the year so we wear different clothes yet they get fitted once for a saddle and are expected to wear that sometimes for years when treeless saddles are widly available but people dont want to pay extra. I just hope in a few years people will be made to take their animals more seriously through law enforcement


Yeh just commenting on your horse comment, i see it alot!! My dads a farrier and my mum used to own a sadderly shop and then continued to fit saddles for a while before she was poorly, you sound just like her, she says exactly the same!! I think alot of it is ignorance and people just not knowing better

[davies67]

i just thought this was a relevant comparison as its not always money that makes things better but moresoe in my oppiion awareness

[Kay]

I think this is a really good topic.

Personally I would like it to be illegal for sellers whoever they are private/company to sell below recommended hutch sizes because I think this starts the whole issue. People go to the shop and buy the cheapest hutch or whatever they can fit into the garden.
Why do people buy rabbits? Well at the moment we are still in the old way of thinking that rabbits aren't important animals. I truly believe that pets are kept on the ladder system I have mentioned before i.e. child wants pet, parent buys goldfish, goldfish dies from unhappy life in tiny tank, child gets brought a hamster, hamster rattles on his wheel all night and sleeps all day so child gets fed up with hamster, parent doesn't want a cat or dog because that’s too much responsibility and might mess the house so opts for rabbit. Perfect solution! Rabbit doesn't destroy home because it’s locked in a hutch 24/7 and not in the house.

I also think that Rescues need to shout a bit louder that they are there. I wouldn’t have known about rescues for rabbits if I hadn’t been goggling rabbit information. These people that are buying them for the kids won’t be looking for information online so that information needs to get to them somehow. For example I know lots of billboards were for minimal money you can advertise and this is where a lot of breeders advertise. I have never seen a dedicated Rabbit Rescue advertised anywhere.

Summing up the only way that life for rabbits will get any better is education for people.

[RusselRocky]

With regards to the horse topic, my baby (bit of a joke my clydesdale X TB X ID) tooks hugely wide saddles until I found this Australian company and ship them over for him now. Money no object. He has all in all about 12 saddles!! :oops: Just thought I would add that when it comes to horses I have seen too many back problems to even contemplate putting one on that was ill-fitting. I campaigned this tirelessly years ago so believe me people are out there trying... With regards to bunnies, maybe charging more for them would disuade people more? If they were more then £30 people would probably then be forced to go to rehoming and would get house checks etc??

Just an idea... Dont know if it came out right!?! :oops::lol:

[Denny]

It really concerns how people see that rabbits will be kept,obtained, rescued and sold in say 35-40yrs time.

Will it be much the same as it is now?. We have some major rescues such as the rspca, Blue Cross ect + numerous independant rescues + one major pet shop chain just starting on the rescue front.

I will most likely be dead in 35-40 years time:lol::lol: but to answer your question, what is likely to happen is, p@h adoption scheme will be recognised as a 'rescue' name amongst the public, probably as big as the rspca name which will close many smaller independant rescues due to p@h opening more branches and more adoption centre's. The kudos of being known as helping rabbits and other animals in need will cease them selling animals due to needing the enclosures for their adoptee's.

Rabbits will be kept better, accomodation wise but does not mean to say that they will be looked after any better or cruelty cases or out of control breeding any lower than they are today.

People will seek a rabbit probably from p@h adoption scheme due to:-

They are local
feel that they are helping an animal that is in need of a new home
still un-ware of other independant rescues out there
want a cheap pet which the adoption fee would be compared to independant rescue set donation fee. But then, if p@h decides to vac's and neuter then they would have to raise the adoption fee which might deter people from buying one and decide it is cheaper to buy one so would head for the breeders or p@h shop floor if they are still selling rabbits:?

I also feel that many will head more for the free ads because many are free to good home and of course the breeders, as some folk would rather the label of having a 'brand new one' as apposed to a 'used one':? and of course, many only want baby rabs so the breeders would still be their:?

I also feel that in 35-40 years time, rabbits will still be portrayed as a cheap, easy childs pet:roll:::roll:

Where will they be sold

Free ads by BYB breeders and pet shops (large and small) but under the sudoname of 'adoption centre'.:roll:

On the selling front at present we have major pet shops, garden centers, breeders of all types. How will this change and will there be any new players?

Yes, new players will be the smaller pet traders who will not have to apply for a pet shop license if they trade under the 'rescue umberella' so they can rehome through their shops breeders off casts and obtain money by renaming it an adoption fee;):roll: By taking in jo public's rabbits for free still gives them the money classed as an adoption fee when a new owner decides to adopt ;)

On the keeping front what will become the norm?

Accomodation will be better, probably more people having more than one bunny but doesnt mean to say that they are not neglected or receive vet treatment due to adopting on a whim or for the child:?

Possibly more spays/neuters being done by the public but I doubt vaccinations will increase anymore than what they are today:(

One thing I would add is this is not what we want to happen but what we think is likely or possible.

well, my answers are what I feel are a possibility in 40 years time, I hope I am wrong and they are not what I would want to happen in 40 years time:(

[rspcarabbits]

I'm going to divorce what I would like from what I think will happen.

The large pet shops trialing rabbit rescue will find it to their advantage and continue to do so but at the same time continue with fresh livestock. The general public will perceive they are doing a reasonable job and will be no wiser as to what the good independant rescues are now doing. As a result small independant rescues facing such a difficult re-homing climate will gradually shut and not be replaced by so many new ones.This will leave a greater reliance on "supermarket style" rescue and re-homing.

It follows that other large chains that do not get involved with rabbits or livestock at present will see the advantages and kudos such "rescuing" can bring and subsequently do likewise. I can see large garden centre chains most certainly following suit.You only have to see tesco's selling rabbit hutches to realise no market is out of bounds to any player.

Large rescue organisations will carry on simply because they have sufficient presence in the market place and their standards will grandually get better in line with the increased awareness surrounding rabbits.

Rabbits are where cats were about 35yrs ago and increasing medical awareness and reserch will see veterinary treatment for rabbits be roughly on par with cats. At the present generally it lags behind.

Rabbit ownership will steadily move towards house- rabbits in a lot of cases as the rabbit takes the place of the home pet in more traditional dog and cat type families. This will spur on the requirement for better veterinary treatment which as mentioned will follow suit as vets and drug companies increasingly see the money to be made .

As for the law. Finalisation of the Animal Welfare act ect will see some sort of standards set for rabbit accommodation but I do not think it will go as far as we all hope it would and obviously all the players around at the time of implementation will have to conform, again another potential problem for the small rescue. As far as new legislation goes I do not think there will be any. Remember the last act was the most significant peice of animal welfare legislation for about 100yrs so to expect anything radically new just is not going to happen......sorry.

I hav'nt even got onto the subject of changing human welfare in the area of housing and waste disposal but if you give it a moments thought you will see owning a rabbit in future could be a whole lot more difficult and expensive. Lots of landlords will not sanction pet ownership in their properties and thats the way a lot of us are going.At the present time it costs approx £800 per year for us and our fosterer just to dispose of rabbit waste ,anybody out there care to predict the next 35yrs on the cost.?

So I see it as a bit of a mixed bag, some good and some not so good and as I said at the beginning this is not what I hope will happen just what I think I see in my Amstrad Crystal Ball (now did I remember to change the batteries?):lol::lol::lol:

[FriskyClover]

I agree with many of the comments.

I think that rabbit accomodation will improve but like Denny said, that doesn't mean that they will be better cared for.

I also agree that house rabbits will become more popular.

Sadly, I think rabbits will still be sold in petshops and that unless there are stricter controls, back-yard breeding will continue.

In my dream world, I'd like to see all rabbits (and other animals) properly cared for and a better understanding of rabbit behaviour.

[doorkeeper]

Face it, by the time the full impact of global warming kicks in rabbits are not going to be a priority. London and half the major cities of the world will be under water and our winters will be so cold they will not be able to survive outside. The future of rabbits is a bleak as that of the whole planet:cry::cry::cry:

[rspcarabbits]

Face it, by the time the full impact of global warming kicks in rabbits are not going to be a priority. London and half the major cities of the world will be under water and our winters will be so cold they will not be able to survive outside. The future of rabbits is a bleak as that of the whole planet:cry::cry::cry:

So thats the positive side but you never got to what could go wrong aaaaand you never mentioned or considered pet shops.:lol::lol::lol:

[luvabun]

I think that it 35-40 years pet ownership will be confined to the history books as the planet will be so polluted that resources will be so scarce and humans will deem precious resources are only for them or animals that are to be eaten :( .

[halon]

I agree that the rabbits will be in the position cats are today. I think it will be normal to have a house rabbit - particularly the larger breeds which are probably less vulnerable to being attacked by cats or dogs.

I think there will be rising awareness of rabbits' needs. Pet shops will stop stocking larger breeds because it will be too expensive for them, but will continue to sell the smaller breeds. I also think they'll move to selling premium hays and herb treats -as they see this is a better way of making money than selling the animals themselves.

I think it's possible the RSPCA will enter into a partnership with petshops where people buying animals are given homechecks. But these checks will only advise new owners about welfare standards rather than prohibiting people from purchasing an animal.

I think the powers of the RSPCA may increase but mostly in relation to farmed animals and extremes of abuse ( particularly as there is increasing evidence between crime and animal abuse).

i think there will be more animal welfare legislation which will come in from the EU. Once the cosmetics testing directive comes into force, and better alternatives to medical testing become popular, the animal rights and policy community will look for a new focus. Initially this will be farm welfare standards which are already rising in importance, but eventually (in 30-40 years) this will have a knock on effect on domestic animals. (I think there'll also be more focus on animal welfare in developing countries.)

In reality this may simply mean that some of the standards under the Animal Welfare Act will be quietly ratcheted up over the years, particularly as scientific evidence emerges to base these standards on.

I do not think any kind of licensing for owning a pet will come in, but microchipping will become common. I think animals will increasingly be rehomed by large internet based networks such as Rabbit Rehome, and Cat Chat rather than by freecycle.

What I'd like to see:
animal welfare become a part of the school curriculum,
Government funded after-school clubs for young-people where they spend time at a rescue centre looking after animals and work towards gaining GCSE-equivalent qualifications in animal welfare,
a huge pre-christmas advertising campaign led by the RSPCA and other welfare organisations to promote Rabbit Rehome/Cat Chat, tying in with some information about rabbit welfare standards and not buying animals for xmas.
Petshops including vouchers for neutering (and vaccinations) in the price.
Petshops made to microchip there animals and records kept of who buys them. Any abandoned animals would then be traced and their owners prosecuted.

[Denny]

Can I add that there is also a possibility that rabbits might be more popular as pets in 35-40 years time due to there not being any left in the wild as we will have no greenbelt or countryside left if we continue to build on wild life land so the only way to see a rabbit will be as a pet or in a zoo:cry::cry:

Boy I must stop watching Richard Attinborough (sp):oops::lol:

[Chipmunk_K]

I think soon rabbits (and G'pigs) will not be sold in pet shops/garden centers etc, but it will be the same as it is with cats and dogs, you either get them personally as pure breeds from breeders, or back yard £5 cardboard adverts. Most will get the proper vet care as standard, and those that don't will eventually be taken down. I still think there will be many abandoned and re-homed through rescues just like cats and dogs are still abandoned, but I think in 20yrs time, all the letters, and complaints we make to pet stores, and local authorities, will slowly pay off, and county by county, we will have bans/restrictions made on pet shops.

[winnies angel]

I just have one question. IF pet shops stopped selling rabbits, how would breeders rehome them? I am not in favor or against pet shops but I am very interested in how people on here would like to see the cycle go.

Isn't that the point to put breeders out of business so that they won't just dump them on pet shops and then not care what happens to them!
I read mr Willis book and found in America (he's a rescuer with years of experience) they still gas animals that don't sell etc I was shocked. If anyone is interested to read 1 of his famous stories (although it is real life) go to my page hoppybunnyrabbit.com and how could you? Trust me have hankies ready! This was wrote to help rescue centres get the message across and is used world wide if any rescue would like to use it Jim does not mind and gives you full access to it!