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Rescue/breeder/p@h - opinions please

Autumn

Warren Scout
After reading another thread on here i can't stop thinking about the fact that we all try to resist buying from p@h and suggest to everyone that they only get new rabbits from a rescue etc....

All of my rabbits were local rescues - one from a breeder, who a friend alerted me to. Lola was almost 6 months old (dwarf lop) and living in a 3ft x 1ft hutch with her mum AND sister! (i brought both her and her sister home but we sadly lost her sister).

Peppa was the unwanted bunny 'out the back' in a pet shop.... i don't even want to think where she would be if i hadn't come home with her.

Woody was bought as a childrens pet but at only 3 months old they decided it was too much like hard work, and knowing i had rabbits asked if i'd take her.

I kind of feel that at least rabbits in rescues are guarenteed a good home now, so have always taken rabbits who could have ended up anywhere. What are your opinions on THIS SUBJECT?

I know every rabbit deserves the same chance of a good life, but in trying to discourage breeders and pet stores from selling bunnies, are we in a way dictating which bunnies get the best chance at a good life?

I keep going back and forth on this so would really love to know what you all think x
 
Alvin i bought as a baby from a place that called itself a sanctuary and my cat before came from a rescue, i feel a bit uncomfortable overlooking these souls who already had a bad start, thankfully with the net these places are easy to find, but in saying that i would have no issues going to a breeder, freeads or pets at home if i fell inlove with an animal that was on sale there, i got my chippies from P@H.

i also prefer rescues for the simple fact i actually dont like baby animals, i will never have a baby rabbit or cat again. Alvin was an awful teen :lol: :lol: and George i spent all of his kittenhood waiting to see what he would be like as an adult.
 
After reading another thread on here i can't stop thinking about the fact that we all try to resist buying from p@h and suggest to everyone that they only get new rabbits from a rescue etc....

All of my rabbits were local rescues - one from a breeder, who a friend alerted me to. Lola was almost 6 months old (dwarf lop) and living in a 3ft x 1ft hutch with her mum AND sister! (i brought both her and her sister home but we sadly lost her sister).

Peppa was the unwanted bunny 'out the back' in a pet shop.... i don't even want to think where she would be if i hadn't come home with her.

Woody was bought as a childrens pet but at only 3 months old they decided it was too much like hard work, and knowing i had rabbits asked if i'd take her.

I kind of feel that at least rabbits in rescues are guarenteed a good home now, so have always taken rabbits who could have ended up anywhere. What are your opinions on THIS SUBJECT?

I know every rabbit deserves the same chance of a good life, but in trying to discourage breeders and pet stores from selling bunnies, are we in a way dictating which bunnies get the best chance at a good life?

I keep going back and forth on this so would really love to know what you all think x

We can't save them all so we have to choose. By buying we are assisting the continued problem. If noone bought animals but only rescued there would be a decrease in demand and therefore a decrease in breeding/selling.

Very simplistic but true.

The difficult bit is actually sorting something out so that people understand how it could work better.

All I can say is when anyone is tempted to buy from a pet shop, consider that you will encourage the provider of the animals to breed more that maybe kept in conditions like this.

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Some how this whole cycle of breeding/rescuing has to stop. It will only stop if fewer rabbits are produced and sadly some will not find the home they deserve by dint of where they were born. Bit like human life - born in Africa/India - you may have a very different life to that of someone born in Switzerland/Australia. All equally as deserving but not necessarily going to receive they life they should.
 
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I know what you mean about the rescue rabbits. I always feel that they are in a good place with people who know what they are doing and getting the best care possible so I often feel that the bun in the rescue section of P@H or in the free adds is a more "urgent" case. I have adopted, been given and bought pets. All of them as individual cases seemed like they needed me more than any of the buns in rescue. Dexter was the last of a litter and past the tiny cute bunny stage. She was in a petshop that also sold reptiles. I thought it best to take her she was given to me by the owner of the shop. Jasper Lilly and Carlisle all came from there as well. The owner was being overrun with rabbits that people didn't want anymore and he was trying hard to rehome them. Lilly and Jasper cost me a tenna each. They were desparate for attention and are both very loving bunnies with no issues. I think they were well treat before comming to me. Carlisle was classed as a giant. I even thought he might be. He was there with no takers for months and months. He was terrified, cramped and scruffy he also had mites. I took him with no idea what to do with him tbh. I just wanted him out. Once home he is actually just a normal lop. I told the owner of the shop and he admitted he had been duped and paid a lot more for him than any other rabbit. Carlise met Lilly and was actally buzzing (this was probably my best ever bunny experience ever) He is so happy and does the hugest binkies. I think my buns deserved a loving home and don't feel any guilt about paying for them. Only Carlisle and Dexter were genuine "stock" and they were probably the most in need of a home and my other two are so friendly they would have caught someones eye very quickly.
 
When i got my rabbits i wanted to rescue however the rspca were so rude to me when i went there i didn't bother. The only other rescue near me is really a shocking horder.
So out of my 4, one is from a ok breeder, one from a really horrible back yard breeder, one was a free to good rabbit from the local paper and the other was given to me by someone my o/h works with.
 
Mine are all private rescues except for Harley who was a P@H bun 8 years ago. Good job I took her, she was nasty :shock: and destined for a bucket of water :evil:

Through the course of rescue work and the work with aggressive buns, I often found people unwilling to keep the buns so I took them on, that's how I got most of my own buns, Ted was a stray found up the road from me by my local petshop owner, think he was thrown out 'cos he has wonky front teeth :roll:
 
Would never buy a bun from any petshop in the future as had bad experiences with hamsters,rats ,buns being poorly soon after bought them.I have two bunnies-one from a breeder[sort of]& one a rescue.I love baby buns so would probably go to a breeder if couldn't rescue a baby,but my second bun would always be a rescue.Barley was given to white post farm by an in experienced breeder,so in theory she wasn't actually from a breeder but Willow was bred at White post,so I guess you could call her a breeder bun.All my other buns came from pet shops apart from Dill who came from Honeybunnies rescue.:)
 
By buying from a pet shop, you are encouraging the ill treatment and abuse of hundreds or thousands of additional animals...simple as!

Pet shop breeders often breed feeder animals for snakes, etc, too...so giving them business promotes this wholesale level of slaughter too.

Obviously everyone is free to choose where they obtain their pets from, but a sensible person gives their money to an ethical and humane organisation such as a reputable rescue centre :D
 
Its not that we don't think buns in petshops deserve good homes which sounds a little like what your saying (i know your not) its if nobody bought from petshops then the petshops would not buy from breeders (good or bad ones) which would result in less rabbits going to rescues in first place (as people buy pets at petshops few years later chances are they end up in a rescue) that way people would not impulse buy but think carefully about the bun before going to the rescue. If more people got rescues less would end up being left in rescues or worse being put down in a rescue (as some still do put healthy rabbits down esp in other countries)
Not so much pets at home as although they still have a lot to learn they do seem to take goodish care of the pets and help charities as far as I know. Its the little back street petshops that should not be allowed to ahve live pets.

I think personally we should all be made to have our pets neutered and only respectable breeders be able to keep and breed pets but have some kind of control on this system so not just anyone could do it.
As for rescues some are just people who took a pet in and found that they are now over run and can also make money from this and breed from them, resulting in more to sell. sad but true.
All three of mine came from rescues, Winston is a rare colour and worth a lot of money so the people who bought him would have got him from a breeder he then was starved and neglected gave to a rescue who also didn't look after him (bred from pets and left them locked in dark shed in a cage for some over 5 years, no food and water or bedding) then came to us with bad burnt feet that hes now on meds for life for.
Angel not sure but we got her from Bunny Burrows she was starved and trapped by her own skin.
Jack as far as we know came from apet shop where he said animals that weren't good enough to sell went to the snake (obv we only have his word for that) he was bought went to a little girl who got bored and end up ina bad rescue.
 
By buying from a pet shop, you are encouraging the ill treatment and abuse of hundreds or thousands of additional animals...simple as!

Pet shop breeders often breed feeder animals for snakes, etc, too...so giving them business promotes this wholesale level of slaughter too.

Obviously everyone is free to choose where they obtain their pets from, but a sensible person gives their money to an ethical and humane organisation such as a reputable rescue centre :D

I know your right....... but i do find it SO hard to resist - especially when i go to P@H on a sunday (to kill time for the little ones when my eldest is at rugby training accross the road) and there are whiny brats there buying their first rabbit when the parents aren't interested at all and you just KNOW the poor things are going to end up huddled up in a tiny filty hutch with no love or atention as soon as the brat gets bored :censored::censored::censored:
 
I agree with what has been said. It isn't that the buns in petstores are any less deserving of a home, it is a matter of making the right decision that benefits ALL buns - rather than just the one you save.

Taking a bun from a petstore, means that a backyard breeder somewhere breeds another doe (often back to back pregnancies with inadequate housing and diet), more babies are produced and shipped to petstores. They often arrive sickly at petstores and are often taken from their mothers wayy to soon. As a result of the breeding, buns sitting in a rescue lose a potentially good home - and some even have to be euthanased due to lack of space.

By taking a bun from a rescue, it does NOT support the breeding of buns - and thus does NOT increase the overpopulation problem. It also free's up space for another homeless bunny to come in.

Plus those that adopt are often far more educated - petstores are known for providing horribly outdated information, and often push their woefully inadequate products on customers. This results in buns sitting alone in 3ft hutches, on food that does not meet their nutritional requirements. Rescues have a thorough screening process that results in buns have spacious cages/set ups, proper food, a buddy etc etc

So buy staying away from petstores, overall it benefits bunnies.
 
I'm really rubbish at voicing opinions, so my writing isn't doing what i'm think any favours, please take that into account.

Now i've found RU, i would never have bought a bunny from a pet shop / garden centre, i would not change Biscuit for the world however.

BUT i think one large problem is (and please don't send a rain of fire at me!) that rescue's are in no way 'available/accessible' to people to see. Petshops, P@H Advertise, Garden Centre's advertise as they are almost always large companies who can. I only knew of the RSPCA, which in my mind, only did cats/dogs.

I had never even heard about a rabbit rescue until i found RU, so i think the issue is often exposure.

I dont however have a solution, it's an opinion, as per the request of the OP.

I do think it's very sad, that for every 'bought' rabbit, another poor Rescue Rabbit is sat there waiting for a forever home and yet another poor doe / buck are in a small hutch in effect being a breeding machine :(
 
When you rescue an animal from a shelter you help two animals - the one you adopt and the one who can take their place and be rescued in turn.

When you buy from a petshop you make the situation worse as then another replaces the animal you brought. You may give the animal you buy a good home, but you don't know what happens to the next ones so it perpetuates the cycle.
 
When you rescue an animal from a shelter you help two animals - the one you adopt and the one who can take their place and be rescued in turn.

When you buy from a petshop you make the situation worse as then another replaces the animal you brought. You may give the animal you buy a good home, but you don't know what happens to the next ones so it perpetuates the cycle.

That is SO well put.
 
BUT i think one large problem is (and please don't send a rain of fire at me!) that rescue's are in no way 'available/accessible' to people to see. Petshops, P@H Advertise, Garden Centre's advertise as they are almost always large companies who can. I only knew of the RSPCA, which in my mind, only did cats/dogs.

I had never even heard about a rabbit rescue until i found RU, so i think the issue is often exposure.

Large companies are always going to have better exposure and advertising. That will never change because small organisations just don't have the funding for glossy ads.

I think the problem lies in the low status that rabbits (and other small animals) have as pets. Most people don't do any research at all before buying a rabbit because they are very often impulse purchases. Even the smallest amount of research on the internet would inform people that buying from a pet shop is risky, and to seek out a rescue or reputable breeder.
 
BUT i think one large problem is (and please don't send a rain of fire at me!) that rescue's are in no way 'available/accessible' to people to see. Petshops, P@H Advertise, Garden Centre's advertise as they are almost always large companies who can. I only knew of the RSPCA, which in my mind, only did cats/dogs.

I had never even heard about a rabbit rescue until i found RU, so i think the issue is often exposure.

This is a very good point. Before I found rescue orrientated forums like RU, I never knew rescues existed for the small furries. As a result, my first 3 guinea pigs came from breeders/petstores. All of the rest of my animals have been give aways/genuine case (not breeders) except for Noah. Noah is my first small furry from an actual rescue. :love:
 
Would better advertising actually be a real help for rescues though?? Or would it just point more irresponsible pet owners in the direction of somewhere to 'dump' their animals?
 
I do think it's very sad, that for every 'bought' rabbit, another poor Rescue Rabbit is sat there waiting for a forever home and yet another poor doe / buck are in a small hutch in effect being a breeding machine :(

I agree, but then we get into the whole reputable rescue thing. Anyone can call themselves a rescue, and it seems to me it's becoming increasingly difficult to spot breeders passing off unwanted stock as rescues.

If you want to breed, deal with the results of your breeding, but don't pass your unwanted stock off as rescues, and put further strain on the limited resources available to the genuine, reputable rescuers.
 
I agree, but then we get into the whole reputable rescue thing. Anyone can call themselves a rescue, and it seems to me it's becoming increasingly difficult to spot breeders passing off unwanted stock as rescues.

Although I agree with what you are saying - I don't think it hard to identify a good rescue from a bad one. Maybe from the internet it is, but if a person lets you buy/adopt a bun without meeting you (or getting someone they trust to meet you in their place), then that should ring alarm bells anyway. And if you go to premises - you will be able to see straight away
 
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