• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Are we cruel to keep pet rabbits?

Carrie14

Mama Doe
I mean in the wild they have 3 main things they do. Eat grass, breed and burrow. We give them hay which can't be as nice as grass take away their ability to breed and don't let them burrow.

And when we neuter them they are clearly in pain.

And I am bonding two at the moment and they're so stressed they want to kill each other.

I know that these things are needed to keep them happy and healthy in the long term but in the short term we really put them through hell :cry:
 
I dont think we are 'cruel' but neither do I think Rabbits should ever have become Pets in the first place. I would be very happy if the only Rabbits in existence were those in the wild. Albeit that 'in the wild' is a harsh life and usually a short one too.
 
Our bunnies are too domesticated to live in the wild. In the wild they are at risk of disease, injury, fighting, predators & have short, hard, lives. In captivity we prevent all that & they get to live hormone free existences with their best friends & long happy lives. The trade off is freedom.
 
agree with Angie

and keeping any pet is un natural but, as the world is today, pets often have much better and longer lives than their wild counterparts

and re bonding and rabbits being stressed, that is because most of us know rabbits are better in pairs or groups but don't stop and think about natural behaviours.
When introducing a new rabbit think how you would feel if a stranger suddenly walked into your home. You would be shocked and maybe a bit scared and defensive, and ask them to leave. If you then were told a good reason why they were there and got to know them they may become a good friend.
Same with rabbits..plonking a rabbit next to a stranger then being suprised they get worried and sometimes fight is just not thinking it through . They too need to realise this stranger can be a friend and that may take a bit of time during which they are unsure..and of course, like humans meeting new people, they may not like everyone they meet!
 
Unnatural is subjective. Unnatural to what? You could say we're unnatural because we have evolved a lot in the past thousands of years, we've migrated far from our original natural habitat, we've created tons of stuff, domesticated lots of species going back several thousand years ago, etc. Unnatural isn't always bad.

I don't see anything wrong with keeping rabbits and other animals and find the idea that it's unnatural and cruel silly. If domestication is cruel then so is everything else we've done. I'd be more concerned about what we've done to the planet than the benefits we've given to rabbits.
 
I never used to think that way, but in the last few months, bunnies have moved into my village. Now that I see them on a daily basis, doing what they do, going about their business and having SO much fun doing it, I do believe I am cruel to my bunnies. They have an 8ft x 20th shed, which is a lot more than many bunnies have, but I just don't think its enough :(

I've made the decision I am not having any more pet ones for that reason. I was watching a group of 5 last night when I was out with the dogs, they were so beautiful and happy. Massive binkies all over the place :love:
 
yes, we are cruel. and we do it for our pleasure, not even for food. its bizarre. but we like it. and our lives are richer for it. my mum had to give me gertrude, her gerbil, because she couldn't stand to keep the poor thing trapped any more. my dad always tells me it would be kinder to set the rabbits free and 'let them have one good run before the fox gets them'.

i settle this in my mind by thinking my rabbits were already in this world before i had them. they have had fairly dull but long and healthy lives with me (coming up for eight years) and they've always had other rabbits as companions. if they hadn't come to me they might have been in small hutches or stressed out by being petted by irritating children. they probably couldn't manage in the wild.

the kindest thing would be to stop breeding rabbits altogether, and other pets too. indeed, the shakers thought that was the best approach to take towards humanity.
 
I dont think we are 'cruel' but neither do I think Rabbits should ever have become Pets in the first place. I would be very happy if the only Rabbits in existence were those in the wild. Albeit that 'in the wild' is a harsh life and usually a short one too.

This.
 
If you're adopting then the rabbits you have were already in this world and you're not supporting the breeding of more. By adopting you're preventing them from sitting in a rescue and I think it's worse to let rabbits go without homes, especially when so many are being euthanized, than adopting them and giving them the best life you can give.
 
I am also with Jane in that i would be happy if we only had buns in the wild and no pets.
(id also be sad as i love them all so much,)

however rabbits have been domsticated for something like 3000yrs.
we made this mess as humans and so i feel its our responsibility to care and rescue the ones that need homes.
so long as there is bunnies needing homes i will open my home to them.
 
We give them less space than they would have in the wild and they probably get bored in a way that they wouldnt in the wild but they are safer and probably healthier.

I know what you mean about it feeling cruel. My quad have a shed and aivary run (total 20 x 6) but the other two pairs only have 10 x 6 each (with a hutch inside) which means that racing about at top speed just doesnt happen (I have never seen it anyway).

Guess we can only do our best to make their lives as good as possible.
 
mine have just taken a fine bean each, from my hand. they didn't look too worried about their lifestyles...:lol:
 
I don't think it's cruel to keep them but I don't believe rabbits as a species are very well suited to domestication, largely due to the amount of space they should have and how easily stressed they are. Sure, some people can provide them with all they need, but most of us can't (or don't).
 
I don't know what to think. I will still do the best I can by all my animals. I know wild animals are no more "happier" than domestic ones. But they get to demonstrate natural behaviour a lot more.

My wish is that all domesticated animals be sterilised and then die out completely. We've done so much damage to ALL the animals we've had an influence on :cry:
 
In my honest opinion I do not feel cruel at all. Rabbits have been domesticated for so long it is not simply a case of being able to 'set them free' they wouldn't be able to survive, their colours alone would make them stand out to predators.

Capturing a wildie and forcing it to live in an enclosure is an entirely different matter of course, but as long as people do their best to give their rabbits a good and happy life with plenty of space and a companion bun I don't see the problem. And I certainly would say that my bunnies do not look like they are being treated cruelly, they seem perfectly content flopped out on my bed :) and Levi has just given my hand a good licking :)
 
I dont think we are 'cruel' but neither do I think Rabbits should ever have become Pets in the first place. I would be very happy if the only Rabbits in existence were those in the wild. Albeit that 'in the wild' is a harsh life and usually a short one too.


I agree with Jane. Although I have for twenty-five plus years rescued, rehomed and kept rabbits I have always felt uncomfortable with the idea of 'pet' rabbits.
 
all four of mine are neutered. whenever i see people asking if they should have rabbits as pets, i say no, get a hamster. i sent the government my plan for restricting pet ownership and breeding of animals. i won't be having any more rabbits (though the 'black bunnies' thread nearlygot me). my colours are nailed firmly to the mast. unashamed radical breastfeeding mother and anti-pet respecter of animals.
 
I dont think we are 'cruel' but neither do I think Rabbits should ever have become Pets in the first place. I would be very happy if the only Rabbits in existence were those in the wild. Albeit that 'in the wild' is a harsh life and usually a short one too.

I agree with Jane.

But why just rabbits then? Why not all pets? But then if dogs hadn't been domesticated we wouldn't have guide dogs, hearing dogs etc.

We can't suddenly turn all domestic rabbits out into the wild, some may get lucky but most wouldn't survive. Mine are rescue rabbits so I don't feel guilty, but until the pet trade is stopped (wishful thinking) the likes of us RUers will (hopefully) keep picking up the pieces and offering these poor buns a better life.
 
But why just rabbits then? Why not all pets? But then if dogs hadn't been domesticated we wouldn't have guide dogs, hearing dogs etc.
I know you weren't asking me but I do think rabbits are particularly ill suited to domestication. Dogs are very well suited to being pets since they love people and the warm home environment - dogs chose domestication. Many species of mice can easily be provided with all they need, same for ferrets.
Rabbits, on the other hand, are easily stressed, difficult to provide enough secure space for and it can be difficult to find ways of keeping them entertained since they would naturally spend their time burrowing, foraging and running about.
Gerbils are another species I don't feel are particularly well suited to domestication, and I'd probably feel the same way about hamsters if I had one.
 
I agree with Jane.

But why just rabbits then? Why not all pets? But then if dogs hadn't been domesticated we wouldn't have guide dogs, hearing dogs etc.

We can't suddenly turn all domestic rabbits out into the wild, some may get lucky but most wouldn't survive. Mine are rescue rabbits so I don't feel guilty, but until the pet trade is stopped (wishful thinking) the likes of us RUers will (hopefully) keep picking up the pieces and offering these poor buns a better life.

Personally I think dogs have a far better life than rabbits. Dogs (in general) absolutely love being with people and would spend time with you to the end of time. Rabbits are put in a hutch/shed and rarely want to spend time with humans, mine certainly don't.
 
Back
Top