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Misinformation on spaying *am very annoyed!*

Hanlou

Mama Doe
Someone on a US budgie forum was asking about rabbits and I gave some basic information including the fact that males are happier neutered and females are happier (and safer!) spayed. This was the response from a forum member:

Female bunnies are perfectly happy intact and are no more likely to get cancer than humans. However intact females have major attitude problems and often become aggressive or overly territorial. I have one we named Demon rabbit because she attacks with enough enthusiasm to tear leather gloves and pant legs. The humans are much happier with spayed females. Both genders but especially the bucks will mark like unaltered cats. Bunnies do not come in to heat or have cycles so they do not have periods of strong hormones and urges like other mammals. The only release eggs and go through hormone changes when exposed to a buck.

I replied with:

Where on earth have you got that information from?? It's completely and utterly wrong.

I am quite annoyed by your reply especially as you have the gall to insuate that my rabbit is spayed for my convenience!! 80% of rabbits who are not spayed will go on to develop cancer - she is spayed to protect her from this danger. Besides which; if you honestly think a rabbit is happy stressed, aggressive and constantly hormonal having regular phantom pregnancies then that is up to you.

Personally I like to protect my animals to the best of my ability. Hollie being spayed means she is far calmer and happier than she was prior to her spay. And for your information - I did not spay her - she was spayed in the rescue I adopted her from.

Every single reputable rabbit rescue in the UK spays and neuters routinely as it is in the rabbits' best interests but if you *choose* not to for whatever strange reason you may have that is entirely up to you. But please do not perpetuate myths about it not making any difference to the incidence of cancer because I am quite happy to provide a battalion of evidence to prove you wrong should this be necessary.

I am close to a *lot* of people in rabbit rescue so am not talking off the top of my head - I am basing my facts on information gleaned from many, many extremely knowledgable people.

Please read the following (( Leaflet from the Rabbit Welfare Association )) if you don't want to listen to a mere mortal such as myself.

ETA: A Demon Rabbit is, in my opinion, a very unhappy rabbit.

....... but if they reply again can anyone please give me some sources to quote please? It is not the OP of the thread who said this it's someone who keeps rabbits and obviously thinks they're an expert..... :roll:

*Am quite annoyed!!!* :?
 
I don't know, but they've already contradicted themselves by saying

>>>Female bunnies are perfectly happy intact


>>> intact females have major attitude problems and often become aggressive or overly territorial.



doesn't sound "perfectly happy" to me.

Don't know if it's worth arguing with them tbh, that sort of person will never admit they're wrong and will just make you angry....
 
This is a sad thread. Sorry I have no sources to back you up.

I'm one of the unfortunate ones who lost a lovely doe bun to 'floppy rabbit syndrome'. Through my ignorance and the unwillingness of my local vet to opperate on small animals I didn't have her 'done' and believe now this lead to her demise. She had a 'period' on one occasion. She was always the docile one...in pain?
'Twas in the grief afterwards that, as you do ask the 'why's and 'ifs', we came to the conclusion that according to what we've read, it may've also contributed to her death. She was only two.

That's a personal experience and conjecture.
 

Thank you. I will bookmark those links for future reference. I hate confrontation so I haven't been back to the thread yet..... :oops:

I won't get into an arguement. I also posted a pic of my set-up when I posted the original information and I also quoted minimum rabbit accommodation requirements - so I wonder if I twanged a nerve with other aspects of her 'rabbit care'..... :roll:

It makes me sad that people aren't content with keeping their own rabbits in an ignorant manner but insist on perpetuating myths instead of encouraging people to improve their rabbits' welfare. :(

Maybe someone will listen anyway.
 
Hopefully they realize how wrong they are. Tell them to talk to any reputable rescue and see why they neuter rabbits (all good US rescues neutered rabbits as well). If there wasn't any reason they wouldn't neuter them :roll:
 
People are so misinformed! With the internet containing such a wealth of knowledge there really is no excuse for people to be so ignorant. As soon as I got Maisie I bought a book from amazon and had RU bookmarked, and very quickly joined the forum for any other questions I might have.

The world is seriously lacking some intelligence :roll:
 
People are so misinformed! With the internet containing such a wealth of knowledge there really is no excuse for people to be so ignorant. As soon as I got Maisie I bought a book from amazon and had RU bookmarked, and very quickly joined the forum for any other questions I might have.

The world is seriously lacking some intelligence :roll:

Sorry Matt, for once i'm going to have to throw a spanner in the works for your comment!

Although the internet is a great source for information, theres a lot of contradicting information along with blatently wrong information. If you search the internet still for information and someone on a 'forum' for example or a 'yahoo answers' style page gives an answer, you can take that for gospel and it be totally and utterly wrong :wave:
 
Sorry Matt, for once i'm going to have to throw a spanner in the works for your comment!

Although the internet is a great source for information, theres a lot of contradicting information along with blatently wrong information. If you search the internet still for information and someone on a 'forum' for example or a 'yahoo answers' style page gives an answer, you can take that for gospel and it be totally and utterly wrong :wave:

Very true! But if you google rabbit health there are a few reputable sites that come up, and the majority of them are good. It just requires common sense to see which websites are actually about the welfare of rabbits and which are not I guess.
 
Well Done Han !

Please don't be upset, you should be feeling proud of yourself.

Awww thank you! :wave:

Am hopeless at any sort of confrontation. As I typed out the above reply I was shaking.... :oops:

I've always been the same - mum said she never really had to tell me off much at all because I'd be in floods of tears before she said / did anything when I'd been naughty.....

It is worrying how wrong people get things - especially when they're important things like this.
 
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