I am dismayed and angry with the ‘Pet of the week’ article by Jamie Buckley in today’s Independent magazine which suggested a rabbit as a pet at Easter. Will you be similarly endorsing puppies for Christmas? It is totally irresponsible and thoughtless.
To compound those errors, the article demonstrates lazy ‘research’ and inadequate ‘reporting’. Netherland dwarfs are very small rabbits but to suggest a pair or one would have a happy life in a 3ft by 1ft hutch is a serious threat to the welfare of the two. I also dispute the claim that a rabbit is pretty low maintenance with the occasional vet bill. Rabbits need three vaccinations annually (one for viral haemorraghic disease (VHD) and two for myxomatosis; say £15 each). Any pet could be considered ‘low maintenance’ if it is healthy; rabbits are just as expensive as dogs or cats should they be unwell. A further implication is that ‘maintenance’ is only about the animal’s physical health and therefore the rabbit can be ignored or paid attention to as it suits the owner; again this is misleading and ignores its emotional wellbeing. Your reporter hinted that two rabbits are best as they like company and reminds us that they ‘breed like rabbits’. Clearly a better point to have made was that rabbits can and should be neutered (costing in the region of £60-£120) so that they can and should be kept more happily as a pair.
Finally the article proposed asking a vet to find a rabbit in need of rehoming. A vet? Proper research would have lead the journalist to the Rabbit Welfare Association, an extensive range of rabbit rescues across the country and a useful range of leaflets for people to help them decide if a rabbit is right for them.
To have read this article when the campaign to encourage people not to buy rabbits on a whim, Make Mine Chocolate, supported by the RSPCA amongst others, is in its first year is particularly depressing. I think you should make amends – perhaps an article on the Make Mine Chocolate campaign and the increase in rabbits given up to animal rescues in the weeks after Easter.
