So is the consensus that the public are aware of dog and cat rescues but not those for other animals?
I think that must be true to at least some extent. Everyone I've told about getting my Jester from BARC has said something like 'oh, i've never heard of rabbit rescues before'.
But, I also think that there's a strong element of 'can't be bothered' in this too - it's so much easier to go into a pet shop and take home a cheap bundle of fluff than it is to take the time to research and contact rescues, have a homecheck, spend money on suitable accommodation etc. No wonder so many people won't take the time to properly research the care needs of rabbits when it's so easy and cheap to replace them
And let's face it, there is a chronic lack of information on proper bunny care out there when you consider that many vets still advocate not neutering, pet shops and breeders often say the same and tell people that keeping single bunnies in small housing is absolutely fine etc. And how many of us on here admit to knowing virtually nothing about proper bunny care before we found this site?
What makes me the most sad is when people who do know better still choose to go to a breeder or petshop to get a new rabbit rather than a rescue
I'm not perfect, my Daisy came from a breeder
(who I found before i found RU, and I agonised over whether to still get her). BUT knowing what I now know about bunnies I would never go anywhere but to a rescue in the future.
Anyway, I think there is a very real need for more and more campaigning and information dissemination (like MMC).