VikkiVet
Mama Doe
I genuinely greatly admire the work some people do educating potential and current owners on the health and welfare of rabbits. I do my bit as a vet student, and more so when I am a vet, but then I realise how incredibly hard the job is when things like this happen...
I've been having an email-based argument with a friend and fellow vet student who occasionally "backyard breeds" her bunnies and sells the litters on the college's intranet.
Aside from the fact that she does no home checks, gives no advice on housing, vaccination, neutering etc she also regularly weans the kits at 4-6 weeks and they are gone by 6 weeks max!
I've tried to reasonably debate with her that they shouldn't be rehomed, especially alone, until 8 weeks but she insists that she has done it before, they've all been fine (how can she know? does she check?) and that I am patronising her for even suggesting otherwise as I haven't actually bred any rabbits (thank God!).
So on her behalf and no doubt any other similarly minded current or future vets, I apologise for their lack of research, information, common sense and diligence. No doubt their own experience and opinion will translate to clients as future advice, thus worstening the situation for the rabbits themselves and local rescue centres who will deal with the fallout.
(thanks, just had to get that off my chest!!)
I've been having an email-based argument with a friend and fellow vet student who occasionally "backyard breeds" her bunnies and sells the litters on the college's intranet.
Aside from the fact that she does no home checks, gives no advice on housing, vaccination, neutering etc she also regularly weans the kits at 4-6 weeks and they are gone by 6 weeks max!
I've tried to reasonably debate with her that they shouldn't be rehomed, especially alone, until 8 weeks but she insists that she has done it before, they've all been fine (how can she know? does she check?) and that I am patronising her for even suggesting otherwise as I haven't actually bred any rabbits (thank God!).
So on her behalf and no doubt any other similarly minded current or future vets, I apologise for their lack of research, information, common sense and diligence. No doubt their own experience and opinion will translate to clients as future advice, thus worstening the situation for the rabbits themselves and local rescue centres who will deal with the fallout.
(thanks, just had to get that off my chest!!)