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Rabbits: the most neglected pet in Britain?

Do you think rabbits are the most neglected pet?

  • Yes

    Votes: 33 68.8%
  • No

    Votes: 4 8.3%
  • Possibly

    Votes: 11 22.9%

  • Total voters
    48
People's lack of knowledge about what they need, and how much care they require

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I do, there is still an assumption and myth that rabbits eat carrots and live in hutches. People don't understand or bother to research their complex dietary needs, people are being missold neglect in pet shops and because we live in a throwaway society, many people are not willing to be devoted to their rabbits. As such they fail to recognize illness that rabbits hide well, they fail to do the necessary research and gain practical experience.

I was 16 when I adopted my first rabbits, 6 months prior to that I worked in at two local shelters to gain practical experience and I read several books and spoke to fellow rabbit owners before being allowed to adopt. My rabbits are my life, I have sold precious possessions to pay for emergency medical treatment when times have been tough. I am constantly seeking to improve their lives by giving them more space, more challenges and mental stimulation, more variety. And I have never stopped learning about rabbits, I don't assume I know everything, there is always something new and I always try to understand so that I can help. I think that sort of devotion is not something most people are willing to give to something they perceive as cute, fluffy, a child's toy and insignificant.

Until the perceptions change, until more people know rabbits have specialist needs, are not ideal for children and cost a fortune in vet bills, they will keep buying rabbits for the kids. Places like Pets at Home don't help either, selling rabbits willy nilly with tiny hutches :censored:


I also think fish are on par or almost as neglected as rabbits. They seen as disposable (flushing down the loo?) and like rabbits are not vocal and probably owners will struggle to recognise illness. And like rabbits they are frequently kept in tanks that are too small or overstocked. Fish are cheap to buy and seen as easy to look after and I think the fact you can't cuddle them does not help so once again people are unwilling to work and get to know the animal at the animal's level or appreciate the animal for what it is rather than what they are perceived to be. It is a real shame :(
 
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i don't know. what about hamsters and gerbils? do they get great lives? chinchillas. degus. urgh. chinchillas and degus give me the creeps (sorry to people who love their chins, esp byb). stick insects. fish. cats, half-feral. horses starved to death.

no, can't make a judgement on that.

pic of cute chinchilla to try to make amends
http://www.chinchillas.com/resource/

advice
don't search google images for jerboa. i might have nightmares. some of the things on that page are not jerboas.
 
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I do, there is still an assumption and myth that rabbits eat carrots and live in hutches. People don't understand or bother to research their complex dietary needs, people are being missold neglect in pet shops and because we live in a throwaway society, many people are not willing to be devoted to their rabbits. As such they fail to recognize illness that rabbits hide well, they fail to do the necessary research and gain practical experience.

I was 16 when I adopted my first rabbits, 6 months prior to that I worked in at two local shelters to gain practical experience and I read several books and spoke to fellow rabbit owners before being allowed to adopt. My rabbits are my life, I have sold precious possessions to pay for emergency medical treatment when times have been tough. I am constantly seeking to improve their lives by giving them more space, more challenges and mental stimulation, more variety. And I have never stopped learning about rabbits, I don't assume I know everything, there is always something new and I always try to understand so that I can help. I think that sort of devotion is not something most people are willing to give to something they perceive as cute, fluffy, a child's toy and insignificant.

Until the perceptions change, until more people know rabbits have specialist needs, are not ideal for children and cost a fortune in vet bills, they will keep buying rabbits for the kids. Places like Pets at Home don't help either, selling rabbits willy nilly with tiny hutches :censored:


I also think fish are on par or almost as neglected as rabbits. They seen as disposable (flushing down the loo?) and like rabbits are not vocal and probably owners will struggle to recognise illness. And like rabbits they are frequently kept in tanks that are too small or overstocked. Fish are cheap to buy and seen as easy to look after and I think the fact you can't cuddle them does not help so once again people are unwilling to work and get to know the animal at the animal's level or appreciate the animal for what it is rather than what they are perceived to be. It is a real shame :(

This!

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Goldfish have to be the most badly looked after pet in the UK, at least you can't win a rabbit as a "booby" prize at the fair. When looked after properly they can live to be 20+ years, hell even when looked after badly they can still cling to life miserably for 10 years or more. If they get ill you can buy a bottle of tonic from the pet shop (that rarely work) or you can buy 4 new goldfish for about the same price.
 
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From my point - alot of the times rabbits are first bought because they look so cute and cuddly - and parents/children have this image in their heads of bunny and child happily playing together and cuddling etc...and when this turns out to be a complete fabrication - bunny is shoved in hutch and forgotten about.

It all boils down to lack of preparation and research in brining the animal home.
 
Nope.

I'm going for fish, probably followed by hamsters. You can't even buy a hamster cage that's of an appropriate size, whereas you can buy proper sized hutches. And how many hamsters go to the vets?
 
Nope.

I'm going for fish, probably followed by hamsters. You can't even buy a hamster cage that's of an appropriate size, whereas you can buy proper sized hutches. And how many hamsters go to the vets?

People were surprised when my gerbil went to the vets!

At the same time though, they were surprised when the rabbits were neutered, vaccinated (given M&S herbs :oops:) etc.
 
Nope.

I'm going for fish, probably followed by hamsters. You can't even buy a hamster cage that's of an appropriate size, whereas you can buy proper sized hutches. And how many hamsters go to the vets?

Mine do! :wave:
 
Nope.

I'm going for fish, probably followed by hamsters. You can't even buy a hamster cage that's of an appropriate size, whereas you can buy proper sized hutches. And how many hamsters go to the vets?

Mine do too...:thumb:

And we have taken fish to the vets too...now that WAS fun :lol:
 
I think they're amongst the most neglected but as other have said, fish often aren't looked after either.

Also, I know of a few cases of reptiles being kept wrongly through ignorance (wrong heaters, wrong living materials etc).
 
Bucket, rubble bag and bread clip. :lol:

Nooo...I wish! This fish belonged to hubby - her name was Alanas (started off as Alan but she laid eggs :D) and no way would my hubby have put his darling into a bag:shock:. We had a small hospital tank that she was already in (she started to develop fin rot) so I sat in the passenger seat of the car, desperately trying to keep the water steady in the tank whilst going over the bumpiest road ever.:lol:

After weeks of antibiotics and hand feeding - Alanas happily recovered :thumb:

Ps...as a bonus, the vet was pretty scrummy :love:
 
The results from here aren't likely to be that accurate as there will be a bias towards rabbits as a pet. I would say horses are a close contender these days
 
I think goldfish are the most neglected, followed by rabbits and then maybe hamsters.

People are really suprised to learn that Goldfish can liver longer than a month with a bit of proper care. Most people I know find it ridiculous that I keep a single goldfish in a 20 gallon tank, however he's 13 years old and still growing strong so I'm obviously doing something right. Similarly, alot of people seem to think rabbits can be perfectly content living in tiny cages and never coming out and I have no idea why. My friend wanted to buy a hamster when she was in uni and me being the boring person I am was trying to talk her out of it because she has no money what so ever and she'd never be able to afford to buy it anything and definitely no vet bills. She just said, if it got ill she's just snap its neck to save on the money for having to put it to sleep. In her eyes that was the 'humane' thing to do. I was really shocked, some people just do not get attached to their pets :( I would definitely take my hamster to the vet, I love him to bits! I think it's just a case of the more interactive or vocal a pet is, the more it's owners take notice of it and the less likely it is to be neglected. hamsters, rabbits and fish can't demand attention from their owners like a cat or dog can.
 
So many people get a single bunny for a small child, who then gets bored with it. The parents also can't be bothered other than to feed it and clean it out once in a while. Because bunnies don't make a noise like dogs or cats, their distress goes unnoticed by the family, neighbours or visitors and the bunny is left to live a life of solitude and confinement.

People are so misinformed about the needs of rabbits. Most don't realise that hutches were designed as a short term solution to keep (and fatten) meat rabbits for small-holders. It's NOT designed for long-term use. I bought an RSPCA book before I bought my first bunny and I now realise how bad the information was in there. It's only through RU that I've learnt what I now know.
 
In terms of accomodation size - yes definately - i mean even the RWAF minimum size hutch only allows for 3hops, its nothing really and then when you think just how many buns are in one of those awful 3ftx18" things (often double storey so the rabbit has almost nowhere to lie out because of the ramp), its horrific.

However in terms of owners generally bothering with them, seeking vetinary attention etc, then i think fish, hamsters, gerbils, degus, etc and since the credit crunch equines (horses, ponies &donkeys), get an even worse deal. I dont know a single person who would take a small animal (other than a rabbit or guinea pig) to the vet, i know lots of people who stick those animals in a cage/tank and forget about them (although that happens to rabbits too i dont think its as common). Equine wise, the number practically abandoned in a field, sometimes left weeks between being checked, or perhaps having a drive by owner (who literally pauses to glance and see if its still standing), is ridiculous. The number not being seen by a farrier (essential) is appauling. You can get a pony or young horse for less than it costs to get a bunny from a petshop and if you get fed up and cant sell him on then the meat man will buy him! If he gets injured or too old to "perform his job" - sell him and if he doesnt sell quick send him to auction for the meat man to buy, afterall a horse is just like a motorbike, if it breaks and cant easily be fixed, ditch it and get a new one! - It makes me sick - equines are living creatures not a machine.
 
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