• 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.

Pet Shop Rabbits

Bunnie

Warren Scout
Some belive that rabbits from pet shops have behaviour problems and have never been handled and are mean and bite, this is not always true, i got my first bunny from pets at home in July 2013 and she was fussy at first and scared at first but after a couple of months she was perfectly fine, she had no problems and she had never ever bitten me, (she did sadly die from a tick she caught in our garden which effected her brain, this was in no way to do with the fact that she was a pet shop bunny)

so please stop saying don't buy pet shop rabbits, whether they have problems or not all bunnies deserve a home.
 
Pet shops rabbits are a total unknown for anyone to take on in terms of health and temperament. Breeders who supply to pet shops generally have a lot of animals and take no care to breed healthy rabbits. There's also the fact that buying from pet shops encourages this kind of breeder which is why many on this forum will not advise buying from a pet shop. Many also question the ethics of a shop that sells animals which are abundant in rescues. Pet shops also generally offer no back up (Pets at Home occasionally take back animals but not often) and are often unable to sex rabbits reliably resulting in accidental litters when unwary people take away two rabbits they believe to be of the same sex.

On the other side of the fence you have the reputable rescues who will be honest about any health problems rabbits have, the rabbits will usually come neutered and vaccinated (which ain't cheap). As the rescue also have volunteers who spend time with the bunnies they'll be able to give an honest account of their temperament. They often offer bonding and boarding services and will take a rabbit back if the owners circumstances change. These rescues are run by people who go through a ton of heartache to do what they do, they often plough a lot of their own money into helping the rabbits in their care and don't get many donations like the big animal charities do.

It's nothing really to do with the rabbits themselves, it's more a question of which type of organisation we prefer to support. Most on this forum would argue that adopting from a reputable rescue is the better option and they have strong arguments to back up their opinion.

I'm sure your bunny is lovely, they certainly do all deserve homes. Sadly many are waiting for homes, have been waiting for a while and will probably still have a long time to wait.
 
Last edited:
It's nothing to do with behavioural issues.. It's to do with supporting the breeders that supply those bunnies to pet shops. :wave:
 
Have you heard of puppy farms?

That is the standard to breeding that supplies the large pet shop chains.

All rabbits deserve great homes.
 
I've never seen behavioural issues mentioned as a problem with pet shop buns. Health problems, however, are extremely common in pet shop bunnies as they are usually bred with no thought for genetics.
 
I can only echo earlier comments really.
The reason people suggest not buying from pet shops if that you have no idea what the breeding conditions are like. Most pet shops source from mills who have animals stacked floor to ceiling pumping out litters with little regard for the health or welfare of the breeder animals or the babies that are sold.
All rabbits do deserve a good home where they're cared for properly, which is exactly why people should avoid buying from a pet shop and supporting the large scale mistreatment of animals.

For context, I am pro rescue but have nothing against good breeders.
 
My local pet shop (which isn't a chain) actually works with the RSPCA to rehome rescue bunnies. Having said that I do not agree with bunnies being kept in the small enclosures that are typically found in any petshop and I think a ban on live animals being sold in petshops is the way forward.

Selling animals in pet shops where anyone can walk in on a whim and walk back out with an animal does not encourage responsible pet owners in my opinion.
 
I'm just popping into to say I got my current rabbit, Amy, from a Pets At Home, Pets For Adoption thing. Basically she'd been there with other rabbits, but nobody wanted her for some reason (idiots). She waited for months and months, quite a few on her own, before I got her. I was originally planning on getting a rescue rabbit (and, slightly off topic, but four years ago when I first wanted a chinchilla, I tried to find a breeder in the area but couldn't; there were none at P@H until last June, where I was also in a stable enough place, when I got Kurt, and we do have some problems with him) after my Pipkin died, but I sort of justified it to myself that she was more at risk in P@H at being handed off to a bad owner, than our nearest Scottish SPCA rescue centre, which would make sure their rabbits went to responsible owners. Yeah, lame excuse, and it's hard to feel moral about supporting these people, but no one will ever make me feel ashamed or guilty for getting Amy. She is the easiest, sweetest, cuddliest, gentle and affectionate rabbit I have ever known. She loves being snuggled and gives me kisses every day. She's real healthy, and other than being a bit shy those first few days and her hormones kicking in a little, we have no problems. I am very lucky she is both like this, and that she is not a pet shop horror story. I don't really have a point, I don't think pet shops should be the first choice when getting a new fur baby, and I know I'll be looking at rescues when I can look for a friend for Amy, but this is just my experience (though the worker whom handled the adoption did seem to not know all that much about rabbits to be honest, and I had to correct her in a couple of things, and dismissed that although I don't consider myself nowhere near anything like an expert, I had had rabbits for a decade by then, but I just shut up and let things proceed so I could get her home quicker).
 
As others have said it isn't about the individual rabbits, it's about supporting a trade in pets at a time when there are far too many for the homes available

this sums it up simply

 
Personally I wouldn't buy from a pet shop (pets at home) solely due to the fact where they get their bunnies from, which the staff don't even know the answer to. I asked a sales representative about where they got their babies from and response was "oh not local, a breeder in Scotland who supplies all the stores, dont know where though" :shock::shock::shock:

However I personally might buy from a hobby breeder who I have researched and found info on to support a love and care for the welfare of their rabbits.

Not buying from a pet shop for me is to discourage the bunny farms who supply them :D
 
Yes all rabbits deserve homes, but if you buy from a shop you are supporting the breeding of more rabbits. Often with no thought to rabbit welfare simply to the profits they can be turned into.

If you rescue you are helping 2 rabbits, the rabbit you adopt and the rabbit that takes its place. There are over 60,000 rabbits in rescue, personally I wouldn't be able to support the breeding of more rabbits when thousands are put to sleep every year simply because there aren't enough homes.
 
Wow this forum has chilled out so much since I was last on here regularly :shock:

For the record, for health and well being the "worst" way to acquire rabbits is free to a good home. I've spent thousands on them, compared to pet shop bun ( before I started rescuing) and rescue centre buns.

Personally, if you want a healthy, well balanced animal then rabbits aren't for you :D (not aimed at you bunnie btw :) )
 
Ive never heard it said that petshop buns have behavioural problems, ive heard that pets at home bunnies often have health problems.

As others have said its about what kind of busines you want to support (i.e. Do you want to encourage puppy farm style rabbit breeders or do you want to support breeders who care and/or rescues)?

The other reasons people on here get rescue buns is its the least stressful and cheaper option to get from a rescue. Rescues can:
1) do the bonding for you (one stress saved),
2) they neuter (another stress AND money saved - also means you wont need somewhere to house a 2nd bun whilst waiting to neuter and bond),
3)they vaccinate (saves you money)
4) as theyve neutered
a) they definately know the sex and the rabbits have no way of gettin an unexpected litter -(if you buy a male/male pair or female/female pair from a petshop then theres a high chance of ending up with a male/female pair and an unexpected litter)
b) plus you can get a male/female pair without hormones so should stay bonded (its less likely a female/female pair or male/male pair will stay happily bonded after hormones kick in)
5) You save two buns for every bun you adopt - the bun you buy and the bun that gets the rescue space youve created.

My first buns were petshop buns from 2 different petshops. Poppy came from a lovely petshop and is a very loving bun - the petshop she came from were very knowlegable and the bunnies were in very large enclosures and all seemed very healthy.
The petshop Sirius came from was small enclosures- knowledge was quite poor particularly around keeping pairs of rabbits, although bunnies seemed healthy enough and were bred by a few local breeders (the manager of the shop had apparently bred Sirius). He was not at all a people bun, but had a fantastic character in other ways.

I do not regret having those buns BUT it was a much harder and more expensive way of doing things (what with seperate housing until neutering, the stress of putting them through neutering and aftercare, the cost of neutering and vaccinations). If id known then about rabbits being in rescue (it had never occured to me) i'd probably have gone to a rescue instead.

My latest bun Burt - came from a rescue (bonded to poppy because sirius passed away) - hes a sweetie, he was already neutered, vaccinated and microchipped and the rescue did the bonding - it was soooo much easier. I also like the fact that by having him rather than a petshop bun ive saved two bunnies (him and the bunny who can take his place at the rescue and find a good home too), i also know i havent supported unethical breeding by getting him.

Any future buns i have will be rescue buns, thats not saying that the petshop buns dont deserve a nice home (all buns do) but i want to take the easy, cheap and ethical path rather than risking encouraging puppyfarm style breeders by buying from a pet shop (the more you buy the more they breed).
 
Last edited:
My first bunny iggy was pet shop brought and he was the loveliest and sweetest bunny!! He had no behavioural problems at all. While I will never regret that he came into my life, I think I would always rescue now because of the support you get from the rescue and that you get to skip the teenage stage and just get a lovely adult furby. With baby bunnies (like kittens and puppies) need more care and attention, whereas adults are already independent and their personalities formed. Nothing or do with health or behaviour (I have a rescue bunny with a chronic condition).

Rescues also have so much more choice of bunny!

Pet shops are amazing for Christmas and birthday bunny gifts and toys and readigrass.
 
I used to get my pets from pet shops & Badger & Blueberry came from a breeder. I didn't know better then. I will say the breeder Badger & Blueberry came from was lovely & really cared about her pets. She did it through love rather than profit & they were very well socialised & friendly compared to my pet shop bunnies. I've never had health problems with pet shop bunnies either.

However, since being on here, I've had my eyes opened to the rescue situation & now I would only ever rescue in future. Rosie is a rescue bun. All bunnies deserve homes, but by buying from a pet shop/breeder, you're encouraging them to carry on. Too many beautiful bunnies are stuck in rescue for that. My conscience just wouldn't allow it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I kind of see the point OP is making here, as a lot of rescue bunnies are dumped pet shop ones anyway. I also don't really think pet shop bunnies are that much unhealthier, once they've established themselves at home, although quite a few cases I know of seem to have had something when they were bought (pregnant, etc)

However, I think it's all missing the point a bit, like others have said. For me, the job rescues do isn't really about pet shop rabbits being healthier/less healthy, but about the attitude that many (but not all) people have that small animals are disposable items to be bought in shops and then dumped when not wanted anymore.
 
It's just the whole concept of selling a living being in a shop that doesn't sit right with me, regardless of health or temperament rabbits are not objects to be bought and sold
 
Back
Top