Rabbit Rescues in the UK - Lest we Forget

When the news of the Horsford rabbits went live earlier in the week I felt I had to act to raise awareness of their situation and also that of PACT, the local rescue to the site, that had been left to pick up the pieces from the horrendous situation.

I am so pleased to see how people have gotten together to assist, but something is troubling me just a bit, that we must not forget the other rabbit rescues in the UK, that day in day out go about their work and deal with the abused and unwanted rabbits and are often stretched to breaking point with regard to resources and volunteers.

This is not the first time that a rescue or a group of rescues have worked to help large numbers of animals. For example, so many people offered help for the Lymington 68 and many took rabbits for us without any help or funding over and above what they would normally recieve from their supporters. But in any event, rescues work tirelessly and with little resource all the time.

I am mindful that while we all try and help immediately with the high numbers of rabbits needing assistance all in one go and all in one rescue i.e. Horsford/PACT, we must not forget the rescues who have a daily struggle and that get no 'air time' and little help from strangers to raise funds.

For me, I hope that this Horsford sitatuation can help to make more people aware of the dire state of rabbit welfare in the UK and as a knock on effect many more people will get involved in all areas of rabbit rescue, not just the ones that get highlighted. This is where I am going to focus my efforts - the campaigning.

I do hope that other rescues haven't suffered from diversion of funds and energy for the one casue in the last week, and that long term, more people get involved with more rescues and do more good.

So my message is, please don't forget all of the work that all of the rescues do, often unsung, across the UK. And, please don't stop trying to make lives for rabbits better, in particular when all of this recent coverage of Horsford dies down.

Rabbits everywhere will always need our help so please keep up the good work.

Helen

Excellent post Helen. Very well said :wave:

totally agree:thumb: i like to donate to the little guys where i can... although i cant volunteer

Good post Helen

Absolutely - well said! I do feel bad when I think of all the time that rescues spend helping buns...its quite over whelming.....I try & donate & help too....but often feel Ive missed a rescue who badly needs the help.....a reminder to us all to help more than just those high-lighted cases....

I was thinking of this earlier but didn't like saying anything but I totally agree.

excellent post.

the timing of meeting you and adopting libby has fallen with horsford and yes we have been more active in supporting horsford than we have been with anything else. however you are absolutely right that day to day the rescues must not be forgotten - although certain large pet chains probably wont respond to hubby and me if we email/tweet them every week asking for help :lol:

The Horsford campaign has brought it home for me - it's made me realise the desperate plight of all rescues - because they are stretched as they are without a big mess like this coming onto someones doorstep. It puts a strain on all rescues in some way or another.

This week, i've campaigned all over the place on rabbit (and other animal) welfare. I aim to put lots of time into it this year, i want to help with any legislation changes and i am going to help Alice out (if she'll have me ) because i feel gratefully indebted to her for all the great work she did with my pair.

But yes - great post and i've also decided to focus my efforts on the campaigning. I'm ashamed to admit that before now, i've buried my head in the sand.

Let's all keep up the good work.

I agree.

Good post

Brilliant post Helen, totally agree.

Fluffers said:

Excellent post Helen. Very well said :wave:

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^^this from me too.

Thankyou for posting this.

The sad reality is that there are situations where rabbits are kept in the same conditions as the Horsford rabbits all over the country. Every town has its shameful breeders and mad collectors.

Most rescues will have encountered situations like this and handled them as best they could with no outside help. We took over 60 rabbits from one woman over the course of two years from sheds that were remarkably similiar to those in the pictures from Horsford. In fact the tiny bird cages some of them were in were worse. Many of them still live with us.

We have also participated in large rescues that did receive publicity such as the Birmingham bunny rescue of which we had 18, again with no outside help.

So please by all means support Pact in their appeal for these poor rabbits, but don't forget your local rescues dealing with less high profile cases.

This issue has been worrying me as well

I've offered a sanctuary place to a single or pair from PACT, but there are always sick rabbits needing help locally, so in effect I'm denying a place to one or two equally as needy rabbits who just haven't had the PR exposure of the Horsford rabbits

I completely agree.

Unfortunately there are far too many large rescues of rabbits needed all over the country

In the last couple of years we have taken rabbits from the lymington 68, the gloustershire 61 and the Blackpool 54- that was a particularly heartbreaking experience

Great thread, agree wholeheartedly. It's easy to let these things slip your mind when it all goes quiet!

I agree

Hugo's There said:

I completely agree.

Unfortunately there are far too many large rescues of rabbits needed all over the country

In the last couple of years we have taken rabbits from the lymington 68, the gloustershire 61 and the Blackpool 54- that was a particularly heartbreaking experience

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I'm ashamed to say that those rescues you've mentioned, i missed, or they were before my time. If they are recent then it was probably me with 'head in the sand' syndrome. Something just snapped with the horsford thing and it's really got me riled into action - not just for horsford but for all injustices of rabbit welfare.