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Lifting a small rabbit by its ears

A

Alleycat

Alpha Buck
Was at the vet's this morning for assistance with giving nose drops to my little bunny King (about 1kg at present), and there was a new vet I haven't seen before there. King was of course reluctant, and when I couldn't manage to hold him at the first attempt, she proceeded to pick him up by the ears!!!

Needless to say, I was horrified, told her to let him go immediately, to get out, and to bring me a proper vet. She kept saying that it is OK to lift small rabbits by the ears, but surely lifting a rabbit by its ears is not right and painful for the rabbit?!?!?

Either way, the other vet came and administered the nose drops in a normal fashion, but the other vet was still insisting it is fine to pick up small rabbits by the ears -is she right?
 
No she damn well is not and you should write a complaint to the practice.

Disgusting, absolutely disgusting. A rabbits ears are one of the most sensitive parts on their body, full of nerves and very littele strong material.

Your poor bunny :(

Well done you for making that vet stop.
 
:shock: That's outrageous! I would make a formal written complaint to the practice owner, and if necessary to the governing body in your country if you can't get them to apologise and admit that it is unacceptable in any circumstance. It's completely unacceptable to handle any rabbit like that. It's a ridiculous logic anyway, as generally speaking an animal's ears (or any other bodypart for that matter) are in proportion to its size, so the size of bunny shouldn't make the slightest bit of difference.

Edit: I've just noticed you're in the Ukraine, so it's possible that up-to-date bunny medicine hasn't advanced as quickly where you are - it might be worth seeing if you can find an article which explains why it's not acceptable, so that the vet can see some evidence.
 
Thanks for the replies which confirms what I thought - unfortunately writing a letter of complaint won't work here in Ukraine, but I will speak to the head vet tomorrow when I'm in. I realise now why he's so scared of being handled, as I bought him from the same place as this stupid vet works in, so no wonder the poor little boy is petrified every time I have to pick him up :evil:

Add to that the fact that he was living in a glass case 30 x 40 x 40 cm (WITH ANOTHER RABBIT!) no wonder he was having some behavioral issues as they said. Funnily enough, with a whole living room and a balcony to run around in and loads of food and attention, he has shown himself to be a very intelligent, funny and affectionate little bun. :love:

This little one was litter trained after only 3 days, and has already learned the Russian word for "Forbidden" so shame on these :censored: people who wanted to put him down. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest :evil::evil:

EDIT: That is a great idea about the article - will find one, and have it translated for them :thumb:
 
I agree with Graham-L, I would definatley write a letter of complaint to the practice owner/s . Well done for getting her to stop and getting another vet :) !
Was he in a carrier ? Most of the time they just take the top off :?
 
sorry just noticed you had said you were in ukraine ! good idea about the article :thumb:
hope you can put her right so no more buns are handled like that by her !
 
binkybunnyox said:
I agree with Graham-L, I would definatley write a letter of complaint to the practice owner/s . Well done for getting her to stop and getting another vet :) !
Was he in a carrier ? Most of the time they just take the top off :?
Click to expand...

Well, I brought him to the vet in a carrier, but he's extremely difficult to handle, so normally I hold him close to my chest with his head facing upwards while the drops are administered by the vet which is how we ended up doing it :)

He seems to have survived the ordeal unscathed - except for a very loud thump and a little nip when we got back home he seems fine - I did have to bribe him with a piece of banana though :love:
 
Its disgusting that someone would pick a rabbit up like that, and a vet of all people! :shock::evil::evil::evil:

Well done for sticking up for your little bun, he sounds very lucky to have found you :love:
 
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