YOUR HELP NEEDED - Stats - Reasons For Bunnies Being Given Up

I'd like to ask your help guys.


If you are a rescue or someone who rescues rabbits (with the specific intention of re-homing only please) could you give me your assistance with the following:

What are the reasons for the incoming rabbits arriving at your rescue. Do you have statistics or records to support the information?



The Make Mine Chocolate campaign is working really hard behind the scenes with those in the 'pet/set shop' industry to make the problems of giving rabbits to children as pets, as high profile an issue as it was with dogs and cats.

Currently 'they' are saying where are you figures to support your argument.

I'd guess we'd all like to know where the 30,000 - 35,000 rabbits in rescues figure actually came from.

We DO all know that pet shop bunnies are a massive problem, I am sure that pet industry does too, but we need to be able to prove the problem exists.

Are you able to help?

If you are, please pm me your e-mail address and I'll send you the details.

I wonder how many rescuers actually keep records for this - maybe in their head, but with so many arrivals and departures, do any of you actually have time to keep accurate records?

Even if you haven't to date, could you start doing it for the campaign?

Plus of course, there are quite a number of lists of 'rabbit rescues' but how many are out of date, no longer rescue, and how many smaller places aren't even mentioned. We know of about 4 rescues (I think it is) that have had to close over the last 6 months or so; we'd like the up to date info.

I'd love to hear from you. This information would be used directly by the Make Mine Chocolate 'panel' (MMC plus RWF etc).


Thanks in advance.

Helen

Anne Mitchell mentioned this in her last email. Are you putting something together specifically for recording this information as this was the impression I got - I think it would be well worth doing!

chloaster said:

Anne Mitchell mentioned this in her last email. Are you putting something together specifically for recording this information as this was the impression I got - I think it would be well worth doing!

Click to expand...

The 'big guns' are having a meeting at the weekend so I'll know more after that. I have just been talking the Lisa who's campaign it is and I'm going to try and help with this bit of it, so I don't know much at the mo.

Will send an e-mail round when I do, and you may receive direct contact from RWF.

Thank you!

think we all know the highest ones will be because the kids got bored, that they were sold 2 of the same sex but turns out not and has had babies thats the one that always gets my goat you by two buns they have babies so peole get rid of the lot, instead of waiting and rehomeing the kits and neutereing and keeping the first pair they bought n the first place, for some reason other than just down right cruelty that one gets to me and makes me more cross

would it an idea to always set up a survey on here for those who arnt rescues but always end up with un wanted buns put up a list of reasons and people can put in order of one to ten, and add that to the rescue statistics, just thought it would be easier to set up a list for people to tick, colate later with the conclusions

sorry didnt read the first bit, im assumeing this is what you had in mind

I agreed to this with our committee last week after they mentioned it to us a couple of weeks back. Hopefully they'll get the forms sorted soon and we can get onto it and prove that the pet shops have a large impact on rescue take ins. However, it won't be possible, but it would be great to be able to go back a generation to to prove the point further. If you could find out where the parents of rabbits came from, ie a person says they had them from a friend who had a litter, 9 times out of 10 I bet that happened from pet shop brought rabbits, whether on purpose or not would be interesting to know too.

Big numbers are probably from hoarders or people who let their bunnies breed and then just lose control over the situation.

And the number of "child got bored", "child went to university and could not take rabbit", "people had to move and could not take rabbit", "people got a dog and got rid of the rabbit" etc. is probably very high, too.

Lucy said:

I agreed to this with our committee last week after they mentioned it to us a couple of weeks back. Hopefully they'll get the forms sorted soon and we can get onto it and prove that the pet shops have a large impact on rescue take ins. However, it won't be possible, but it would be great to be able to go back a generation to to prove the point further. If you could find out where the parents of rabbits came from, ie a person says they had them from a friend who had a litter, 9 times out of 10 I bet that happened from pet shop brought rabbits, whether on purpose or not would be interesting to know too.

Click to expand...

I agree Lucy.

So, a form has already been devised by the MMC team but it will be reviewed and possibly finalised on Saturday. When it's ready to go, it will get sent out the rescues.

I understand that the rescues that RWF has contacted directly those of you who's details they have alredady, so what I'd like to have from you all is those of you who have ended up rescuing on a small scale in your back garden or even a large scale but who are not on any records as being rescues.

Thank you.

I always ask people when they give up rabbits what their reasoning is and write it on my submission forms but so often people just lie in order to get rid of them. So often the real reasons become obvious. We had a rabbit in before Christmas that a lady couldn't cope with because it 'chewed her wallpaper'!!! The real reason was that it was very aggressive. The classic one is, 'oh I've just found this stray' - (nose extension gesture:lol::lol when you know full well it is their rabbit. A poor little rabbit last year came in with fly strike and a prolapse, the lady said it was a stray but the vet confirmed it was actually her rabbit.:evil::evil:

We also record on Surrender form the reason the animals are being handed in.
Have kept these from the start so can provide info if requested

It's not just the reason they are being handing in they need to know. To provide accurate data they need to know when they are coming in and at what age (tp prove it was easter impulse buying) how long they have had them and where they came from. We ask but don't always get this info, just a shrug.

Well I can provide the info we are given

Our forms have owners details
Date of surrender
Why they are being giving in
Where they originally obtained the animal from
Animals details..breed, size, age, health, what fed.

If this is of any use let me know Helen

Lucy said:

It's not just the reason they are being handing in they need to know. To provide accurate data they need to know when they are coming in and at what age (tp prove it was easter impulse buying) how long they have had them and where they came from. We ask but don't always get this info, just a shrug.

Click to expand...

That's a good point - they may well have considered things like this - I am told that there are a lot of questions on the form and by being so indepth, it may be too time consuming for all rescues to complete.

Will pass on your thoughts Lucy.

The Duchess said:

That's a good point - they may well have considered things like this - I am told that there are a lot of questions on the form and by being so indepth, it may be too time consuming for all rescues to complete.

Will pass on your thoughts Lucy.

Click to expand...

those weren't my thoughts, that was what I was told was going to be on the form :lol:

didn't someone do a survey recently (or in last few years):lol: Will do a search:lol:

Lucy said:

those weren't my thoughts, that was what I was told was going to be on the form :lol:

Click to expand...

rtfq......sorry..... trying to do too many things at once here. Am cleaning out, trying to book vet appointments, watching the clock and doing RU at the same time. Must go off and do one thing at a time.

I'll contact an erstwhile member friend of mine who correlated this same info a few years ago and see if she kept it anywhere (she contacted a lot of rescues only to find a fair number of them were not operating anymore )

Angie65 said:

didn't someone do a survey recently (or in last few years):lol: Will do a search:lol:

Click to expand...

Just seen your reply after posting... you're right, this was done but I think it was done a few years ago and has disappeared - possibly archived?

Not a rescue etc, but a few weeks ago I had a look at a p@h incoming form, and there was very little on it. I had all these questions, the usual, age, conditions food, vaccs neutering, why.

the person I was talking to seemed very well informed, with 3 rabbits herself. She said that ' they' (as in p@h) didn't like to ask to many questions as it would put people off bringing them in!!

Ive not seen an incoming form for proper rescues, I expect they would include these details, but it is certainly something I would like to know, from a potential owners point of view.

those of you who do have surrender forms, would you consider / do you put your data into a spreadsheet / data base?

I understand you are busy etc, but I do think it would be most informative to you and campaigners, plus easier to bring up data, when something like this happens/ is asked of you.

honeybunny said:

Well I can provide the info we are given

Our forms have owners details
Date of surrender
Why they are being giving in
Where they originally obtained the animal from
Animals details..breed, size, age, health, what fed.

Click to expand...

I also have all this info when an animal comes in to.
But I only started asking where the animal had come from a few years back the rest of the info goes back 8 years though.