Calling All Rescues/Sanctuaries-Your Opinions/Answers Needed Please!

Hi,

I am working on a personal project for my final stages of my Diploma in Flower Essence Therapy for Animals (you may have heard or seen flower essences as 'Bach' in your chemist/Boots but this is just 1 range).
I have decided to focus on Rabbits, Rescue & Rehabilitation and how Essences can help them with their recovery.

Liz from RR is kindly allowing me to use some of her bunnies and their individual cases to focus on but I could do with some statistics too.
So far on the Internet I have found that approx 35,000 rabbits pass through rescue each year, however I could do with some more info - can you help?

- What are the top reasons for rabbits coming into rescue?

- Does anyone know of cruelty/neglect statistics for rabbit cases per year or where I could find such info (have tried RSPCA sites but can't find much focus on rabbits)?

- Have you noticed an increase in rabbits coming into rescue over the past few years?
If yes, why do you think that may be?

- From your experience what do you feel is the most important thing that needs to be done to help more rabbits not end up in rescue?

- As a Rescue would you be open to using or look into using Flower Essence Therapy for helping some of your cases in their rehabilitation process? (please note Essence Therapy is always used in conjunction with traditional Veterinary care/medicine, never as a replacement)

If you have any other comments you would like to add please feel free to. The project will remain private between myself and my tutor.

A big thank you in advance.

Anyone? :?

Being a sanctuary we only take in the odd rabbit, so I can't really comment on the most common causes for them being put into rescue. For us they strays which I can only assume they were dumped- both were aggressive females, we took in an aggressive male and have had a few because of the owners moving to accomadation/ abroad and they did not want to take the animal, many were animals which had come from risky situations and the owners got fed up with them.

I would certainly consider using something to help calm them in stressful situations- I use DAP diffusers for any dogs and Feliway diffusers for cats, and believe in many cases they help.

Education would, I think, be the best think to stop rabbits from coming into rescues- if people were more aware of the care and problems involved in caring for any animal and thought things through before rushing into buying them, things might start to be different.

Bumping for you - hopefully a rescue will come on here with some answers....it may be a good idea to also contact some rescues & go and meet them...ask if you can ask questions etc....
I would try flower essence...any herbal meds that would assist an animal thats ill id worth trying.

In the past we have used homeopathy on our horse.
I also had a parakeet who got a tumour on her tongue and couldnt eat very well - vet rec. to PTS and my mum refused - gave her homepathy...the tumour went away and she lived for another 2 years...

so presume its similar....

So far on the Internet I have found that approx 35,000 rabbits pass through rescue each year, however I could do with some more info - can you help?

I will have a look at figured for you later

- What are the top reasons for rabbits coming into rescue?
Children bored
cost
illness
Moving
Its not coming to us like a dog does
Bought mix sexed from petshop (thought htey were same sex)

- Does anyone know of cruelty/neglect statistics for rabbit cases per year or where I could find such info (have tried RSPCA sites but can't find much focus on rabbits)? Not sure you could try the RWF

- Have you noticed an increase in rabbits coming into rescue over the past few years?
Yes
If yes, why do you think that may be?

Pet shops selling cheap and people thinking they can make money breeding

- From your experience what do you feel is the most important thing that needs to be done to help more rabbits not end up in rescue?

To stop petshops selling and people breeding and to try to get people to adopt

- As a Rescue would you be open to using or look into using Flower Essence Therapy for helping some of your cases in their rehabilitation process? (please note Essence Therapy is always used in conjunction with traditional Veterinary care/medicine, never as a replacement)

Thanks Halfpenny, Chelle & Elaine for your reponses :thumb:

Anyone else?

Hi, have you seen the Make Mine Chocolate survey form? It is a survey being carried out across the UK to find out why rabbits end up in rescues. To date we have managed to collate (with rescues submitted data) figures for thousands of rabbits.

For more info about the survey go here...http://www.makeminechocolate.org.uk/rescue%20survey.htm

Helen

The Duchess said:

Hi, have you seen the Make Mine Chocolate survey form? It is a survey being carried out across the UK to find out why rabbits end up in rescues. To date we have managed to collate (with rescues submitted data) figures for thousands of rabbits.
For more info about the survey go here...http://www.makeminechocolate.org.uk/rescue%20survey.htm
Helen

Click to expand...

Hi Helen,

Yes I had been on the MMC site. Am I having a 'blonde moment' as I can't see any results from the survey?

sonnet said:

Hi Helen,

Yes I had been on the MMC site. Am I having a 'blonde moment' as I can't see any results from the survey?

Click to expand...

No, the results are updated every day when someone adds more rabbits. Lisa has a spreadsheet with charting that shows the breakdown of info.

If you'd like to e-mail me, maybe we can help somehow. therabbitcrossing@yahoo.co.uk

I think the main reason that rabbits come into rescue is because they were bought for a child in a petshop as a young baby. They were cute, funny an inquisitive. As the child gets bored, the rabbit is just left on its own in the hutch at the end of the garden. Un-neutered it becomes aggressive and frightened whenever anyone comes to stroke it or throw food in.