Introductions 2: the story of how my buns came to be

Hi, I'm new here, I've already introduced myself, but I thought I should let the babies say hi too :wave:


This is Angelica (AKA Jelly), named so, because she looks like an angel, but wriggles like jelly :lol:
This was her first day with us:



This is Mercedes, my car-mad brothers' lil' girl, again when we first got her:



And the troublesome twosome now



(the only time I can get BOTH of them to stay still is when they're eating )


They're sisters, and are now nearly 8 months old, and WOW, the time has flown by, I got them as a measly 8 weeks old! Full of character and mischief! They cause the damage of two small puppies, but have the attitude of a couple of pampered kitties


This is their adoptive Daddy...



I don't think he's realised they're different and grooms them like they're his pups, it's beautiful to watch, he's like an over-protective mother now, scaring all the birds and cats away from the garden (and even barking at the larger insects that get too close to the hutch) :lol: !



Getting my babes
My girls came from a pet shop... sort of...
Here's their story:


I was in P@H buying Dog and Cat treats when some pet welfare council official was telling them that the buns accommodation was unsatisfactory and that the surplus rabbits would be removed the following Tuesday and euthanised ... There were THIRTEEN buns in each 4x3 glass cage (one for boys, one for girls), they couldn't even take one hop! Truly horrid to watch!


My brother an I had wanted buns for a while and I'd done all the research, I was just looking for a good hutch and breeder before committing. But when I saw these babes, I knew I had to do something, even if I couldn't save them all! So my brother and I dug out all our old toys/books/clothes etc. and sold the LOT online, making £300, enough money to set up a couple of buns. Ordered our hutch and marched in the next Monday to save a couple of the condemned rabbits, and so the new additions to our family binkied home. However, it was an awful thing, we asked one of the ladies to show us which rabbits were to stay and which weren't, and then the ominous task of just saving two of the 20 buns (well our choice was of 10, as we didn't want any hoppy surprises :lol: ) finally we chose, but really, if I could have saved them all, I would, there were a couple of English spots there, just 7 weeks old and even my girls were in an awful state, underweight, undernourished, I was up some nights making them drink with a syringe as they didn't have the effort, only at Christmas did the vet say they had reached 'okay' health.


I'm glad to say, since then, my local P@H have improved conditions, no more than 6 buns, and it's a 7x3 tank per gender. However it's still far from what it should be, especially the adoption center bit!


Why P@H sometimes suck
In the adoption center there I have seen many animals go through hell, waiting for their forever home, over the last 6 months, every time I'm in there I check on them, and ask the young girl in charge what's happened to the previous buns, these are some that have stuck with me:


Charlie and Lola: Dropped on doorstep - Didn't realise Lola was unspayed, she got pregnant, both got put to sleep(inc L with kits)
Fred and George: Too old to be bought - Staff came in the next day to find they'd fought to the death
Amber: Too old to be bought - Died because of a faulty heater which 'cooked' her
Daisy: Dropped on doorstep - Was given veg at 8 weeks of age, died of flystrike
Rosie: Too old to be bought - Oh, this one's hard... I nearly chose Rosie, a tri-coloured Dutch when I went, but she wasn't on the 'to go' list, so I didn't. She ended up in the adoption centre, in a 3x2x2 glass box, no hides or tunnels or toys, I even bought a dumbell and ball and asked them to put it in, but I just couldn't afford another bun. At 6 months old, having had been with them for 4 months, they put her down for being 'unprofitable'... her existence was so short, and so painful... RIP


SORRY!


I know I ranted a bit, but I am a chatterbox by nature:lol:, and there's not much else I can do but write with my dog on me :evil:


I wanted to share the beginnings of my bunnies lives with you, and help raise awareness about pet-shop buns.

So HI! :wave: and if you read all that, I salute you! :thumb:

Why P@H sometimes suck
In the adoption center there I have seen many animals go through hell, waiting for their forever home, over the last 6 months, every time I'm in there I check on them, and ask the young girl in charge what's happened to the previous buns, these are some that have stuck with me:


Charlie and Lola: Dropped on doorstep - Didn't realise Lola was unspayed, she got pregnant, both got put to sleep(inc L with kits)
Fred and George: Too old to be bought - Staff came in the next day to find they'd fought to the death
Amber: Too old to be bought - Died because of a faulty heater which 'cooked' her
Daisy: Dropped on doorstep - Was given veg at 8 weeks of age, died of flystrike
Rosie: Too old to be bought - Oh, this one's hard... I nearly chose Rosie, a tri-coloured Dutch when I went, but she wasn't on the 'to go' list, so I didn't. She ended up in the adoption centre, in a 3x2x2 glass box, no hides or tunnels or toys, I even bought a dumbell and ball and asked them to put it in, but I just couldn't afford another bun. At 6 months old, having had been with them for 4 months, they put her down for being 'unprofitable'... her existence was so short, and so painful... RIP

Click to expand...

Holy ****!!!
How is the pets at home near you still open?
Have you contacted watchdog?
Someone needs to know about this, you have a lot of very important info!

Your buns are beautiful and I am so glad you saved them, sorry about the rest of the poor babies, binky free buns xxx

eta: I'm sure it's local councils that give out licences to sell live animals, contact them with the info you've provided, get their licence revoked.

natsusakura said:

Holy ****!!!
How is the pets at home near you still open?
Have you contacted watchdog?
Someone needs to know about this, you have a lot of very important info!

Your buns are beautiful and I am so glad you saved them, sorry about the rest of the poor babies, binky free buns xxx

eta: I'm sure it's local councils that give out licences to sell live animals, contact them with the info you've provided, get their licence revoked.

Click to expand...

Thank you, I do think they're rather gorgeous myself

I've written several times to P@H head office, and approached my local council and even written to my MP, with photo and vet (of my buns health when they arrived) evidence... everytime it's the same reply

"we are working hard with the company to resolve the issue, we take animal welfare very seriously and are investigating the matter" :evil::evil::evil:

It's cheaper for them to let animals die -_- plus P@H pay a premium price for the HUGE plot of land they're on, so they don't want to reduce their income, I mean, how else would the council get the champers they need for all the fancy doo's they host?

It makes me really mad, but I'm just one person against the corporate 'Gods'

Hi and welcome :wave:

A very sad tale ...and backs up my decision not to buy from P&H , and I avoid looking at the animals when I go in there (my Companion Care Vets is based just inside P@H :roll. If I looked at the Adoption section I would struggle to resist taking them home.


I was always under the misguided impression that all animals had spacious accomodation out the back of the store and only on display during opening hours...but now I wonder if all buns for rehome are kept in the small glass tanks all the time

edit: I can see pictures now!

Your bunnies are beautiful

I am really shocked by those p@h reasons Everything I hear is really starting to make me dislike them!!!

fruitandnutcake said:

Hi and welcome :wave:

A very sad tale ...and backs up my decision not to buy from P&H , and I avoid looking at the animals when I go in there (my Companion Care Vets is based just inside P@H :roll. If I looked at the Adoption section I would struggle to resist taking them home.


I was always under the misguided impression that all animals had spacious accomodation out the back of the store and only on display during opening hours...but now I wonder if all buns for rehome are kept in the small glass tanks all the time

edit: I can see pictures now!

Click to expand...

I have to admit I also believed this, but my friend who worked at P@H told me about it, and the buns in my local store, live in the glass tanks, all the time, and the continental giants' cage is so small they can't put their ears up! But they're lucky compared to the ones waiting to go out on the shop-floor (non-adoption) they're "stored" in wire cages that are 2ft cubes with wire floors, no shelter/hides. I've heard of bunny-mills with better conditions. But because it's 'temporary' it's legal.

I try not to buy from P@H, I only get my litter from there as no-where near-by sells rabbit-suitable pellets, and I'd never have hay from them again! I bought a tiny bag (no bigger than a cushion) to keep as 'emergency' hay, in the snowy weather I needed it just as a top up for extra warmth. On opening it I found it contained huge clumps of rock and dirt! a little bone! a screw! and bird poop!

I took it back to them the next day (buns had blankets overnight instead) they offered a refund but didn't even apologise! If I hadn't looked through it, heaven knows what could have happened to my babies! I refused and kept it for evidence, taking pics and sending them off to the company, they didn't even bother to reply :evil::evil::evil::evil:

I'd never say don't shop there, but I disagree with them selling live animals. If prospective owners see buns in a teeny cage, at the place where they're supposed to be safe, they'll just think it's fine to do at home. :?

They're so lucky to have you (photos aren't working but I can see them in your sig, have you got them all neutered? Just asking because of the two sisters, females tend to fight and fall out if they haven't been spayed)

I've never heard any P@H pts animals that are too old or unprofitable :shock: (years ago they were just sent back to the breeder as it was free and would swap them for babies, nowadays they keep the rabbits unless they come in ill) nor pts rabbits if it was over crowded, they would just go back to the breeder or moved to other stores. How horrifying! I didn't think any of them used wire bottom cages to house rabbits out back, all the ones I've been too (which to be fair is only a handful compared to the 300 plus stores out there) used rabbit cages. Maybe those were there when the store was took over by P@H or what they used to use and never bother to remove them? Poor things.

How terrible. What a sad world it is that makes money more important than animals... Well done for rescuing your little beauties. What a hard choice that must have been.

I can't see the photos, it says they have been removed