Crisis situations

I am looking back over the events of the last couple of weeks with the Blackpool 50 and feeling like I could have handled the whole situation very differently, better and maybe everybun would have survived.

I'm not after pity or reassurance or anything like that - Im a very straight forward person with a practical nature and a good dollop of common sense thrown in. :roll::lol::lol:

It was my first involvement with any rehoming/rescue and to have 50+ with no warning I think it's fair to say 'deep end'! However, many of you have dealt with these situations and do so again and again so Im after good common sense advice and steps to take should this ever happen again.

As I see it these are the things I did wrong.

Asked for help from everyone straight away when I should have been thinking of the buns health rather than their accommodation.
We myxo'd all the buns on arrival and booked them in for neutering either here or in Cheshire, all within a week.
After neutering the buns travelled for 5+ hours some of them within a couple of days of being neteured to get to their rescue places so as not to lose them.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I think maybe this is what should have happened, but I'm open to suggestions and hope this thread will help more buns in the future.

Once the buns were removed we should have given them all a vet health check within 2 days and booked them in for neutering starting in a weeks time to monitor them beforehand and get dental buns in first etc.

Myxo vac's should only have been given to those who were well 2 weeks after the neuter. Microchip at this time as well.

Travel to rescues no sooner than 1 week from myxo vac date.

What does everyone elso do?

Thanks for reading,

Maria x

You're bound to learn lots from a situation like that. It's never going to work perfectly though so don't be too hard on yourself.

Some of it's hard to pick either way... Quick neutering might terminate early pregnancies which could have cause complications particularly in neglected rabbits and put more pressure on rescues with extra litters.

It's high risk myxi season and a big group could end up with disease sweeping through and put other bunnies at risk too.

Tam

i think you are probably being a bit hard on yourself and it is very easy to be wise after the event and say what if.

like tamsin said the early neutering can help eliminate early pregnancies and it is understandable that you wanted to get them into their rescue homes so as not to lose them and end up unable to house them all.



yes it is good to look back and learn from the situation but without you in the first place many more of the buns would not have made it

My suggestion would be, although I do have little experience of these situations, would be to do dental checks asap as I think many neglected bunnies do have dental problems and to prioritise female neutering, as obviously there is the risk of pregnancy and they need longer to heal before they can travel.

I think we all learn as we go along.
Obviously with so many Rabbits accomodation is a very important issue. But I think maybe the neutering not being done until everBun has been thoroughly healthchecked is essential.
I dont think for one minute you should feel responsible but I am very surprised that a Vet would vaccinate anyBun 2 days before neutering and also, in one sad case, fail to carry out a vital oral examination

Bunnies are classified as 'Exotics' for a very good reason. The Vets who treated the Buns you rescued, IMHO, did not make the best of decisions.

I feel a bit about saying all this, after all I was not the one on the frontline. But I cant pretend not to have been :shock: :? on learning that the Vets made such choices.

Janex

ETA I also think that maybe the Hugos There's Vet should contact the Vet who neutered Hawkbit. Oversights and mistakes happen, but if we dont know we have made them we wont learn from them.

I think you deserve a big pat on the back. I am sure all us rescues can say the same as you have said time and time again.

I admire you both for your commitment to all the rabbits and rescues you help and I just want you to know that I think you are both a very special couple

its very hard when faced with a situation like that to know what to do first ...

i think you should be proud that you got in there and did what you did ...
we are all human and we all make mistakes ...the bad thing is if we dont learn from them . :?

I think you did your very best Maria dont be too hard on yourself x

Thanks for all your replies - I'm not beating myself up over it all - I'm too tired for that! :roll::lol: BUT I do want to learn from it and am thinking of writing a crisis protocol for events like this in the future.

I don't think our RSPCA have had a case like this before and we all just reacted rather than thinking it through, consequently we made a lot of work for ourselves that maybe wasn't necessary and moved buns on before we should have done.

We did manage to house all 56 buns and none were in unfit/unsuitable areas, they were just below our normal standards regarding space. (It did mean that we couldn't take in birds or ferrets as we used the aviary and the four ferret runs.) Given that we housed the buns we could have took more time to see to their needs.

The vet was given instructions to neuter and teeth check all buns whilst under GA but sadly we all know one got missed.

The myxo injection was given by staff at the centre on the day of arrival or the day after. I never even thought about them needing time to recover from the jab before being operated on.

So what steps would other people take and what order?

Maria x

I don't see how accommodation wouldn't be a priorty in a case such as this, it would be lovely to space things out like you described, but where could they all have been kept for so long? I agree that bunnies who are not up to being neutered/vaccinataed should probably have been held off until a thorough vet exam had taken place, but, as others have said, this is for the vets to decide...

eta. just read your post above

Just want to clarify the ferret runs have only just been built and so far have never contained ferrets.

Neil

Maria, that's very brave of you to post this - I really respect you for that, but don't be so hard on yourself, it's all experience and you'll always gain something from it x

first of all i have to say, its amazing what you managed to achieve with that number of rabbit.
we aren't a rescue and have never handled anywhere like that number of animals in one go, but if anything does come to us we usually take them for a vet check straight away and then leave them to settle for a week or two, before putting them through anymore stress, unless they need some emergency treatment. with cats we always get a felv/fiv test done straight away, and any older animals get a general bloods test. the last incomer, deli the dalmation dog,had a wart on her eye needing immediate treatment so she was given pre-op bloods and them had her op, she is still to be vaccinated, because we would rather get her stitches out and let her settle before putting her through anymore stress. i think with that number of animals though, you must just do what you can,especially if you have potentially pregnant animals.
lets face it, how often are people asked to cope with those numbers in a oner.:shock:
hope this isn't seen as any critisim, just answering the question you asked with our limited experiences.

Neil-and-Maria said:

So what steps would other people take and what order?

Maria x

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1 Get everyBun thoroughly health checked. Treat as necessary, Myxo vac if appropriate ( ie Bun is 'well' )

2 Wait two weeks to allow full immune response to vaccine before neutering. ( Obviously this would mean the possible progression of any pregnancies......)

3 Wait a week to allow recovery from neuter before transportation to new environment

4 Liase with place of destination ( Rescue etc) re insuring VHD Vaccine is given ASAP after arrival.

But thats assuming we live in an ideal world. We dont. There are just too many Rabbits in need of homes and those involved in trying to achieve this can only but do their best.

As I said before, we are all on a continuous learning curve. As long as we all keep trying to make a difference thats the important thing. You are doing just that.

Janex

Can't really add to what others have said.:?

Health check..neuter fit females
Mxyi vacs for all

waiting time extended before neutering others.
and longer time post neuter before travelling..

but you did a grand job dealing with that number..it's every rescues nightmare.

To be honest I think I would have done things the way you did. In these situations what is vital is getting them spaces. Once spaces have been found, the rest can be sorted from there. Without a space, it is pretty hopeless, so I think you did what you had to do. This is the real world where spaces are few and go fast if they are available at all. The other things mentioned are great, but only if you have the time and space to keep all rabbits for 2-3 weeks before sending them on, which it appears wasn't the case.

Gosh I think you did a great job hun

Maria, I agree with Lucy. You did a great job in getting these animals saved and sorted.

We have been involved with many large no rescues and you never have the luxury of time to sit down for weeks and draw up a plan. There have been many cases where huge numbers of bunnies have been put to sleep because someone decided that the problem was too great and that places would never be found. You secured places for these bunnies and got them there and I would focus on the large no of bunnies you saved than the few who did not make it. If any bunny was lost, lets put this firmly at the feet of the person who had 50 bunnies and who evidently did not seek vet treatment for some of them, than the people who were trying hard to clean up their mess.

Vets decided it was okay to vaccinate and neuter/spay these bunnies and, for most of them, it was fine. Had you not taken this course of action, some of the branches that took in the bunnies for rehoming, may not have done so. With branches being self funding, it makes a difference if a bunny is vaccinated and spayed. Had you waited for a few weeks , then the places would almost certainly have been filled with other bunnies. I know you contacted a lot of RSPCA branches who were unable to offer you places and you had to grab the ones you did.

I feel you did an excellent job and there are a great number of bunnies who agree.

I agree with what others have said. You did a great job, and everything in life is a learning experience. It's easy to look back and wonder if things could have been different but with so often it's not possible to things a certain way when time etc is against you. As they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Deelove said:

As they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

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Absolutely !! The very fact that N + M do so much for their local RSPCA Branch shows that they care a great deal.

Janex