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illegal to kill and eat a pet rabbit??? in UK. ..tell me it is!

bunny-boo

Warren Scout
Some discussion on a Facebook page...in America it is common practice apparently for breeders to kill and eat their domesticated rabbits if they are not perfect or don't sell.... am I right in thinking here in the UK it is illegal as they are *protected under the the animal welfare act being domesticated? ...
 
I think that as long as it's only you and your immediate family eating it then you don't need any sort of license to raise and kill and eat your own animals. Obviously a person could still be charged with cruelty if they were unable to kill the animals in a humane way.

It's not really any different to eating a pig or a cow.
 
Growing up in New Zealand we quite often had pet lambs/piglets that, once they got older, ended up in the freezer.
 
I think you are allowed to kill poultry and rabbits yourself as long as its done humanely. You are not allowed to kill larger animals yourself like sheep, pigs and cows etc, I guess because it would be difficult due to size to do it in an accepted 'humane' manner.
 
So could you eat your dog or cat then. .



I couldn't eat any animal that had been or was my pet, but I do eat meat so it seems hypocritical to then discriminate and only eat 'non cute' ones. I'm not sure id want to eat an animal that also ate meat like a cat or dog though.

I used to know someone who reared all her own meat and have great respect for her. She knew exactly what kind of lives her animals lived (good, happy ones) and chose slaughterhouses so that they were as humane as possible. I'd like to think I could do the same one day, but I'm not sure I could.
 
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