Vegan_Bunny
Warren Veteran
So my local owl centre advertised today, on their facebook page, that they were having an "animal encounters session" including "Easter chicks & duckinlings and guineapigs & rabbits". Straight away the red flags went up.
Now, I used to volunteer here many years ago and the welfare of their animals was very..dubious. I personally did not agree with how they kept many of the birds and the fact that they have "pony rides" for the kids. Not to mention that the owner bred dogs. :evil:
I don't know if it's the same owner who has it now but since adding them on facebook, they seem to have really turned things around and when I read about this Easter Event, my heart sank.
So I gave them a polite message asking how the rabbits were kept, where they came from and what would happen to them afterwards. I also told them about the plight of bunnies in rescues and a bit about how rabbits certainly do not make good "petting" animals for kids or anyone else.
Well, I got an answer and I will post it here. Apologies for the long reply!
"Hi Raven,
Our rabbits are very well cared for - we are a professional vetted and certified wildlife sanctuary, have extremely regular inspections and have a reputation for one of the best animal education outreach programmes in the North East - our rabbits are looked after at all times by very knowledgeable caring staff with a variety of qualified backgrounds in animal and veterinary care. We currently have four rabbits under 2, and they are all neutered, vaccinated and have regular check ups, as do all of our animals. We do not breed the rabbits, nor do we actively promote the keeping of them as pets. Our rabbits have come to us through a variety of means - we have rescue rabbits, we have rabbits that have been "dumped" at the Centre, and we have rabbits that have been previous pets.
Our rabbits are fed on high quality rabbit food with vegetables in addition, dandelion and willow in the Spring and Summer months. The rabbits are housed in large rabbit hutches with separate living and sleeping compartments, they have fresh straw and hay bedding and large outdoor spaces in which to run around in.
Three of our rabbits do not like being handled, so we do not introduce these to the children at all - the well being of the animal is a priority at all times, however one of our rabbits - Ben - does like attention, he has always been around people and has always been fine - in fact he runs up to people, jumps on knees and will fall asleep when petted, so we allow the children to be introduced to him. We supervise Ben at all times - children are not allowed to "maul" the rabbit, and we advise children to be gentle, teaching them how to treat any small animal. Ben has regular breaks, is not out all day and if at any point appears stressed, we stop.
We really are not using our animals as Easter "gimmicks" - believe me running an owl and bird of prey centre we know all too well the pet "fads" which result in animals ending up in rescue organisations. We have many of them ourselves - including rabbits.
Our animal encounter sessions are more than anything an educational tool - and we have them throughout the year, not just at Easter. Children get to meet an animal, have a great experience but also learn something about it which they cannot learn from books - this is the most important thing. Many of our formulative "loves and hates" are created when we are children, and I know that many of our staff have actually gone into wildlife rescue and animal care based on a love for animals that they gained when they were young, through talks and experience just like this one.
I hope this information has been of help to you, if you have any leaflets etc we will gladly put them out at the Centre -"
I was genuinely shocked that the rabbits are neutered and vaccinated! :shock: Obviously they could be lying but I don't see why they would so I'm hoping that these buns are actually being looked after correctly. They have agreed to print some posters off and have a read through some useful websites so I emailed them about 20 posters! :lol: :thumb:
Now, I used to volunteer here many years ago and the welfare of their animals was very..dubious. I personally did not agree with how they kept many of the birds and the fact that they have "pony rides" for the kids. Not to mention that the owner bred dogs. :evil:
I don't know if it's the same owner who has it now but since adding them on facebook, they seem to have really turned things around and when I read about this Easter Event, my heart sank.
So I gave them a polite message asking how the rabbits were kept, where they came from and what would happen to them afterwards. I also told them about the plight of bunnies in rescues and a bit about how rabbits certainly do not make good "petting" animals for kids or anyone else.
Well, I got an answer and I will post it here. Apologies for the long reply!
"Hi Raven,
Our rabbits are very well cared for - we are a professional vetted and certified wildlife sanctuary, have extremely regular inspections and have a reputation for one of the best animal education outreach programmes in the North East - our rabbits are looked after at all times by very knowledgeable caring staff with a variety of qualified backgrounds in animal and veterinary care. We currently have four rabbits under 2, and they are all neutered, vaccinated and have regular check ups, as do all of our animals. We do not breed the rabbits, nor do we actively promote the keeping of them as pets. Our rabbits have come to us through a variety of means - we have rescue rabbits, we have rabbits that have been "dumped" at the Centre, and we have rabbits that have been previous pets.
Our rabbits are fed on high quality rabbit food with vegetables in addition, dandelion and willow in the Spring and Summer months. The rabbits are housed in large rabbit hutches with separate living and sleeping compartments, they have fresh straw and hay bedding and large outdoor spaces in which to run around in.
Three of our rabbits do not like being handled, so we do not introduce these to the children at all - the well being of the animal is a priority at all times, however one of our rabbits - Ben - does like attention, he has always been around people and has always been fine - in fact he runs up to people, jumps on knees and will fall asleep when petted, so we allow the children to be introduced to him. We supervise Ben at all times - children are not allowed to "maul" the rabbit, and we advise children to be gentle, teaching them how to treat any small animal. Ben has regular breaks, is not out all day and if at any point appears stressed, we stop.
We really are not using our animals as Easter "gimmicks" - believe me running an owl and bird of prey centre we know all too well the pet "fads" which result in animals ending up in rescue organisations. We have many of them ourselves - including rabbits.
Our animal encounter sessions are more than anything an educational tool - and we have them throughout the year, not just at Easter. Children get to meet an animal, have a great experience but also learn something about it which they cannot learn from books - this is the most important thing. Many of our formulative "loves and hates" are created when we are children, and I know that many of our staff have actually gone into wildlife rescue and animal care based on a love for animals that they gained when they were young, through talks and experience just like this one.
I hope this information has been of help to you, if you have any leaflets etc we will gladly put them out at the Centre -"
I was genuinely shocked that the rabbits are neutered and vaccinated! :shock: Obviously they could be lying but I don't see why they would so I'm hoping that these buns are actually being looked after correctly. They have agreed to print some posters off and have a read through some useful websites so I emailed them about 20 posters! :lol: :thumb: