rescue centre.

I know im going to come in for some stick about this but..
yesterday i went to look at some rabbits from a rescue place.As soon as i pulled up i could smell all the rabbits.
Yes there were plenty of hutches with rabbits in them all good sized hutches.
But no where for them to get much excerise.
There were flies buzzing around everywhere.
it was very dirty, or im i just very clean i dont know.?
yes there was plenty of hay.But i think the place was too unclean and no grass to see at all.
Why take so many in when it makes condtions like this.
I know the owner is proberly just trying to give the bunnies a home.
But i felt very sad when i came away.

sorry venting over. sorry if i offended anyone but this is my opinion.

rescues are only a safe haven untill a permanent home is found, if you have concerns maybe contact the rescue and offer help with cleaning out etc, running a rescue is a very hard job keeping everything in tip top condition so maybe the rescue could do with some help:? its all to easy to criticise when in actual fact they could do with a helping hand, you could allways contact the rescue and discuss your concerns with them

there are good and bad recues out there. i think the idea is that the rescues have decent sized accomodation where the rabbits can be temperarily till they get a new home so the hutches should all be clean with plenty of hay and some dreid food available and fresh water. they should all have access to runs during day even if its only 2 hours each. but i think that from what you ahev sadi the hutches were dirty which is sad, and the buns had no excersise, rabbits do not need grass tho many love it but they do need to stretch their legs once in a while, also some rescues will allow buns runs during the week or go to fosters during the week and then on the day open to the public have all the buns back in hutches so people can rehome them. i am not sure from what you have described if the rescue is reputable or not but hutches should be clean and maybe the fly issue needs addressing tho i get flys in our garden and it is hard. some rabbits will go to be house rabbits also. sorry you had such a bad time there as someone mentioned maybe they need help or more funding. i think it is hard to say no to taking some cases in as there are so many really deserving buns out tehre who need the care,,,,..some of those buns may have come in needing neuter vaccs, health probs sorted dental s abuse claw clipping and the new accomodation is a sanctury from what they are used to. also some of the buns could haev just been neutered and needed cage rest, but it seems odd to me there was no where to allow buns to excersies.

I think volunteering is a great idea if you can. It helps to understand the pressures these rescues are under. Also how time consuming it is to keep lots of rabbits clean. It sounds like it may be worse at this rescue because the buns aren't out for exercise and obviously producing all their waste in a confined space.

How did the rabbits look? Were they healthy looking?

Also some rescues prefer to exercise buns on concrete as it is easy to clean and disinfect, they may have been runs which are put away when people come to view the buns.

If I were you I would offer to go and clean out and have a good chat with the owner

Remember the people who have brought this on the rescue are the ones who've dumped their animals there, the rescue is only trying to help the rabbits find new homes and offer them a safe haven in the meantime.

I think most of us have an idea of a what a 'good rescue' should be as we've all been to an RSPCA shelter where it is all very professionally run, whilst others out there are just trying to do their best helping animals from their own garden.

Perhaps you could help in some way, cleaning out, helping to advertise the rabbits etc?

to be honest it cost me £15 in petrol just to get there and back so i wont be offering to help out as its to far to go as well as working looking after my own children and partner and little bun.x
i know its only a temporary home for them but with over 80 there already i cant see it being that temporary.
and no runs so they can excerise
i understand it must be tough running a rescue centre
but why take so many it when you cant give them a clean envioment.

I guess the person who runs it is faced with a dilemma, that if she/he didn't take them in they would be put to sleep or even killed by their previous owner, unfortunately it's a sad fact, so although the temporary place at rescue may not be as great as it could be, it's a lot better than the danger they were in.

I can understand how you feel the first time I went to a rescue that was less then perfect I was sad, I actually cried for days. I think just general up keep and taking care of 80 rabbits takes so much time, that a lot of other things become weathered.

It's the people who drop their rabbits off at said rescue that is at fault, not the person who is trying to ensure their passage to a safe new home where they'll be loved.

Did you adopt a bun from there?

englishgirlie said:

to be honest it cost me £15 in petrol just to get there and back so i wont be offering to help out as its to far to go as well as working looking after my own children and partner and little bun.x
i know its only a temporary home for them but with over 80 there already i cant see it being that temporary.
and no runs so they can excerise
i understand it must be tough running a rescue centre
but why take so many it when you cant give them a clean envioment.

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Perhaps is the only rescue in the area, so if they don't take the rabbits in then what will happen to them?

And I would think they get cleaned out at least twice a week, so maybe you were there just before they were cleaned out.

i don't think you need to apologise. i think it is hard for rescues to say no, but as it says in the thread for the rescue manual, if a rescue does not limit how many animals it takes in, it can become a place where they need rescuing from. i know of a couple of rescues, who take in animals, they do not fund vaccinations or neutering, as this allows them to take in more, but how well off are these animals if there is a disease outbreak. they also take in animals who they decide are unrehomeable, so they are kept, i'm sure this is common in many rescues.
we have often been asked why we would not take on volunteers, but i always think, that as most peoples lives move on, so must they, and where would that leave us. we try to ensure we have no more animals than one of us can look after, incase the other one is ill, so at least their basic needs are met, until the other one is well.
i have no doubt that people mean well when they start a rescue, but it is a learn as you go along process, and if you get it really wrong, you can end up causing more problems. i'm sure i read somewhere that most rescues fold after about 2 years, mainly because they have not realised how difficult it is.

This thread has raised an interesting point about the number of animals rescues can take in.

In theory I think it is a very good idea to limit the number of rescue spaces, but what happens if animals are dumped at the door, etc??

I know many rescues don't publicise their address for this reason, but once it gets out into the public domain, it must be very difficult for rescues to deal with.

that is an interesting point, and maybe some rescues could answer that . it is also something that should be discussed in the rescue manual ( don't know if it has already been). we have been under pressure to take in animals, when we couldn't and have had to say no, and felt awful, but would feel worse if the animals already here suffered. we would also be gutted if, because we were over stocked we couldn't afford a vet bill or food. we are also very limited in what we can take in as we do not rehome, and try to be selective by taking only animals that have really no other options.
we have not advertised our address to avoid animals being dumped on our doorstep.

i wonder how rescues are coping at the minute, with the cost of living at the moment many must really be struggling.

Like you say im sure the centres are struggling as the cost of everything goes up.
To answer SOAD question no we didnt get one this time as the one we had all agreed on that we saw on the website had gone.
But i wanted to bring them home so they would be in a cleaner place.
To be honest it was the smell and the flies that worried me most.
But like you say maybe the owner could do with a little more help.But even if they got it. It still wouldnt help not having an exercise area.
This was the first rescue place i have been to besides RSPCA. so i have only that to judge it on.
And yes it must be hard to turn around and say No im sorry i cant take any more rabbits in but like abbymarysmokey and halfpenny has said but i do think there has to be a limit.

englishgirlie said:

Like you say im sure the centres are struggling as the cost of everything goes up.
To answer SOAD question no we didnt get one this time as the one we had all agreed on that we saw on the website had gone.
But i wanted to bring them home so they would be in a cleaner place.
To be honest it was the smell and the flies that worried me most.
But like you say maybe the owner could do with a little more help.But even if they got it. It still wouldnt help not having an exercise area.
This was the first rescue place i have been to besides RSPCA. so i have only that to judge it on.
And yes it must be hard to turn around and say No im sorry i cant take any more rabbits in but like abbymarysmokey and halfpenny has said but i do think there has to be a limit.

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Hello :wave:

You asked why they take them in when they are already almost full. I highlight your point above, because I feel that often rescues are put in awful situations where if they do take a bun in they are left wondering what will happen to it, where it will go, what conditions it will be in and even whether they may kill it if a rescue won't take it

You wanted to take one away because you felt the conditions at your home would be far better, I believe the rescue probably feels that their conditions are better than the one the bun was in previously.

I know many rescues have a waiting list. People on the waiting list are not seen as a threat to the buns welfare and the rabbit is safe to remain with them until space becomes available. However, often cases come along where they need to take in a bun straight away, or as others have said, dumped, otherwise the consequences can be dire. I think this must be one of the hardest parts of rescuing - the decision of which to take in and which to turn away

I do not by any means think that all rescues are good, some have even been known to hide behind the image of a rescue but actually are doing far worse things, like breeding the poor rabbits. I think that if you feel that the welfare of these rabbits is at risk, and that the standards may fall below that of the RSPCA, you should think about reporting them.

I'm not a Rescue but I have felt under pressure before now to take people's rabbits in & I only foster. It must be very hard to be in the firing line - especially if they are the only rescue in the area, & even though I'm over my limit at the minute (but some are here for bonding), I would still take "just one more" if there was a particularly bad situation or somebun was threatened with pts.

Most rescues are self-funded - maybe it's too far for you to travel, but could you raise some money for them - a sponsored event or something?