Green Fields Rescue
Young Bun
Hi guys,
I hope you dont mind me posting this on the "welfare issues" but I really feel this is one. Surely to raise welfare for all rabbits we have to get good quality information out into the public domain from trusted sources. A trusted source ought really to be an organisation like "vetark" the producers of probiotics and supplements like avipro for small animals. I have looked at the "rabbit care" information on their website and I am so deeply shocked and concerned by what they are advocating that I have written a "strongly worded letter" to them requesting they alter the information immediately but what I really need is for lots of people with "clout" in animal welfare, be that rescuers, vets, and pet owners to get behind what I have said and back me up if you feel able to in the form of e-mails, product boycott and complaints. Please pass this on to as many people as possible. Together, we CAN change things for rabbits by eliminating the information which ignorant people take as gospel.
Please read this part of their website:
http://www.vetark.co.uk/rabbitcare.html
These are MY comments to them:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Regarding this area of your website:
http://www.vetark.co.uk/rabbitcare.html
I run a rescue centre for rabbits and guinea pigs have years and years of experience with keeping them. I am trained in animal communication/behaviour and have read extensively on the subject of both wild and domestic rabbits. I am a member of the Rabbit Welfare Association (RWA) and work closely with other rabbit rescues and welfare organisations. I would not say I am the worlds best authority on rabbit welfare but to say that I know enough to be horrified and dismayed with the information on rabbit care given on your website would be to understate it greatly. I wish to take umbridge with several points which I will address individually quoting your website in colour:
They live, on average, four to ten years and are very easy to keep in a healthy state.
Rabbits are NOT "very easy to keep". This is a completely subjective statement and companies such as yourselves have a responsibility to ensure that you acurately represent their true needs. Rabbits are complex to keep, a huge commitment of time and money, and the chances of having a "very easy to keep" rabbit for their entire lifespan is almost nil. They require a great deal of input from their owners and to describe them as EASY to keep is a total misrepresentation and it is because of people like you making such sweeping statements that rabbits get such a saw deal.
They are usually very docile but can be nervous and will bite, scratch and kick if cornered and frightened or when frustrated.
It is truely shocking to see this written the same paragraph as your previous statement that they are "very easy to keep". Indeed rabbits will bite, scratch and kick if frightened but if you have a rabbit behaving in this way regularly there is something very wrong with how they are being kept.Its disturbing to see this behaiour flagged up in the introductory paragraph as if it is "normal". It is NOT in the normal nature of rabbits to behave this way. A rabbit treated correctly and who is feeling well, safe and secure indeed, should NEVER display this behaviour. Which leads nicely onto the opinion that:
They are best kept singly
Absolutely and completely untrue. Total codswallop. Where on earth did you get your information from to come out with a statement like this???? Rabbits should NEVER be kept alone. They are group animals and are extremely sociable. Rabbits form bonds within their group that are exceptionally close and the loss of a friend or pack member results in a grief process just the same as humans experience. To quote the Rabbit Welfare Association: "Rabbits evolved to live in groups, never alone. Keeping a single rabbit deprives your pet of one of his most fundamental requirements; the company of his own kind." To quote the RSPCA chief vet advising on rehoming: "Rabbits need each other. Its as simple as that. Rehoming centres should make it a priority to ensure rabbits are not rehomed to a life of solitude." It is true that all rabbits kept in groups or pairs should be neutered or spayed to avoid territorial problems, but this is part of responsible rabbit ownership. In any case, rabbits given the correct amount of space should not have problems over territory anyhow...which leads me nicely on to:
in a hutch measuring at least 36 inches wide, 18 inches deep and 18 inches high. This should be subdivided, 40:60, into covered and outdoor compartments, respectively. The entire cage-front should be removable for easy cleaning. A wire-netting or weld-mesh floor helps prevent foot-soiling.
Bad enough that you would recommend keeping a rabbit alone...but now you want to subject it to this accomodation for 10 years?? This is inhuman. We are talking about an animal the size of a small cat. To keep a single rabbit in a hutch measuring 3 feet is an absolutely appauling suggestion. We would not advocate keeping a single guinea pig in something this size! Most medium sized rabbits could not take even 2 consecutive hops in a hutch this size. And as for your suggestion that 60% of this would be open to the air!! This would mean that the 40% (approx 14 inches by your measurements) remaining would mean the rabbit may not even be able to lay down in the sheltered area! Indeed our own rabbits could barely sit comfortably in such a small area. To quote the RWA on the matter of hutch sizes: "Hutches can never be too big. The minimum size for average sized rabbits is 5 foot long, 2 feet deep and 2 feet high. Exercise runs should also be as large as possible; ideally, at least 8 feet x 4 feet x 2 feet high. Instead of the traditional rabbit hutch, why not make your rabbit habitat an attractive garden feature? Be imaginative... garden sheds; summerhouses; or wooden Wendy Houses with an aviary/run built on the side (accessed via a cat flap) make ideal homes." This makes the accomodation you describe sound pitiful. Indeed someone taking your advice on this would end up with a rabbit in a pretty pitiful condition without any doubt at all. I think that this paragraph is perhaps the most disturbing on your website. "A wire-metting or weld mesh floor helps prevent foot-soiling." I am so angered by this statement. Yes, I'm sure that a wire floor will prevent soiling. It will also successfully cause extreme discomfort to the animals feet which will become sore and disfigured and develop over grown claws which will in turn catch on the mesh. The animals weight will be thrown backwards and it will develop sore hocks. Rabbits feet were never designed to walk on wire mesh! That is appauling. They should be given a comfortable, soft but firm base to walk on, just as nature intended. Asking them to live on a wire mesh floor is asking for trouble. In any case, a rabbit which is kept on appropriate bedding and is cleaned out every 2-3 days, with their litter trays cleaning daily will never suffer from foot soiling. Rabbits confined in this way will quickly become depressed (with the associated problems of poor immunity, agression and GI stasis) and will develop back problems, muscle wasting and osteoporosis. Most will begin to self harm to alleviate the boredom. I note you also do not mention any kind of stimulation, or toys for your rabbit in solitary confinement. Once again to quote the RWA "Rabbits need things to keep them occupied, such as plastic tunnels; large plant pots; hay-filled litter trays and planters of earth to dig in. Wild rabbits spend several hours foraging for food daily, so use your imagination when feeding your bunny. Scatter food on the floor of the hutch/run rather than feeding in a bowl, and provide constant access to hay."
Litter in the hutch should be absorbent. Peat moss is best......... because of the tendency of rabbits to chew (and swallow) their bedding.
Again, this is codswallop. I would never even consider keeping our rabbits on peat moss. The reason rabbits have a "tendancy" to chew and swallow their bedding is that they are grazing animals used to eating what is under foot. Hence, an absorbant bedding such as "megazorb" topped with a layer of edible bedding such as good quality hay is preferable and will encourage continual wear of their teeth. Peat moss encourages microorganisms to grow in the bedding and is NOT advisable. Over the years we have tried many different kinds of bedding, but peat moss is a recipie for illness and blistered sore feet as the rabbit tramps around in a "bog" in its hutch.
It is the responsibility of companies such as yours to promote health and welbeing in all animals be this pets, breeding stock or even lab animals. To put this kind of misleading and generalised information out into the public domain is grossly irresponsible in the extreme.
I will be contacting everyone I know in the animal welfare circles to bring their attention to this situation including all the veterinary practices In my area. I will be urging them to boycott the use of your products, and I will personally ensure none of your products are used in our rescue centre, until such time as this misleading information is removed from your website. I suggest that if you wish to use an animal "care" page to shamelessly promote the use of your products, that you are very very not to upset the very people who care for and advocate for the animals you claim to help with your medications and products. In my mind you have shown very clearly your business is nt animal welfare, but is instead profit and sales. This is most dissapointing.
You mention at the bottom of the piece on "care" that people should join the "British House Rabbit Association"...you should note they no longer exist and are now the Rabbit Welfare Association and the details you have given for them are also out of date. I will be sending this e-mail to them...and I feel fairly sure they will be as appauled as I am about the content of your site and the implication that they have somehow endorsed what you have written by putting their details at the bottom of the page in the same type face as the rest of your information.
I await your swiftest possible response.
Regards
Lorna Fields
Bailey says:
"Dont Breed or Buy while animals in rescues die"
www.greenfieldsrescue.co.uk
01344 488208
07739 147266
lorna.field@virgin.net
I hope you dont mind me posting this on the "welfare issues" but I really feel this is one. Surely to raise welfare for all rabbits we have to get good quality information out into the public domain from trusted sources. A trusted source ought really to be an organisation like "vetark" the producers of probiotics and supplements like avipro for small animals. I have looked at the "rabbit care" information on their website and I am so deeply shocked and concerned by what they are advocating that I have written a "strongly worded letter" to them requesting they alter the information immediately but what I really need is for lots of people with "clout" in animal welfare, be that rescuers, vets, and pet owners to get behind what I have said and back me up if you feel able to in the form of e-mails, product boycott and complaints. Please pass this on to as many people as possible. Together, we CAN change things for rabbits by eliminating the information which ignorant people take as gospel.
Please read this part of their website:
http://www.vetark.co.uk/rabbitcare.html
These are MY comments to them:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Regarding this area of your website:
http://www.vetark.co.uk/rabbitcare.html
I run a rescue centre for rabbits and guinea pigs have years and years of experience with keeping them. I am trained in animal communication/behaviour and have read extensively on the subject of both wild and domestic rabbits. I am a member of the Rabbit Welfare Association (RWA) and work closely with other rabbit rescues and welfare organisations. I would not say I am the worlds best authority on rabbit welfare but to say that I know enough to be horrified and dismayed with the information on rabbit care given on your website would be to understate it greatly. I wish to take umbridge with several points which I will address individually quoting your website in colour:
They live, on average, four to ten years and are very easy to keep in a healthy state.
Rabbits are NOT "very easy to keep". This is a completely subjective statement and companies such as yourselves have a responsibility to ensure that you acurately represent their true needs. Rabbits are complex to keep, a huge commitment of time and money, and the chances of having a "very easy to keep" rabbit for their entire lifespan is almost nil. They require a great deal of input from their owners and to describe them as EASY to keep is a total misrepresentation and it is because of people like you making such sweeping statements that rabbits get such a saw deal.
They are usually very docile but can be nervous and will bite, scratch and kick if cornered and frightened or when frustrated.
It is truely shocking to see this written the same paragraph as your previous statement that they are "very easy to keep". Indeed rabbits will bite, scratch and kick if frightened but if you have a rabbit behaving in this way regularly there is something very wrong with how they are being kept.Its disturbing to see this behaiour flagged up in the introductory paragraph as if it is "normal". It is NOT in the normal nature of rabbits to behave this way. A rabbit treated correctly and who is feeling well, safe and secure indeed, should NEVER display this behaviour. Which leads nicely onto the opinion that:
They are best kept singly
Absolutely and completely untrue. Total codswallop. Where on earth did you get your information from to come out with a statement like this???? Rabbits should NEVER be kept alone. They are group animals and are extremely sociable. Rabbits form bonds within their group that are exceptionally close and the loss of a friend or pack member results in a grief process just the same as humans experience. To quote the Rabbit Welfare Association: "Rabbits evolved to live in groups, never alone. Keeping a single rabbit deprives your pet of one of his most fundamental requirements; the company of his own kind." To quote the RSPCA chief vet advising on rehoming: "Rabbits need each other. Its as simple as that. Rehoming centres should make it a priority to ensure rabbits are not rehomed to a life of solitude." It is true that all rabbits kept in groups or pairs should be neutered or spayed to avoid territorial problems, but this is part of responsible rabbit ownership. In any case, rabbits given the correct amount of space should not have problems over territory anyhow...which leads me nicely on to:
in a hutch measuring at least 36 inches wide, 18 inches deep and 18 inches high. This should be subdivided, 40:60, into covered and outdoor compartments, respectively. The entire cage-front should be removable for easy cleaning. A wire-netting or weld-mesh floor helps prevent foot-soiling.
Bad enough that you would recommend keeping a rabbit alone...but now you want to subject it to this accomodation for 10 years?? This is inhuman. We are talking about an animal the size of a small cat. To keep a single rabbit in a hutch measuring 3 feet is an absolutely appauling suggestion. We would not advocate keeping a single guinea pig in something this size! Most medium sized rabbits could not take even 2 consecutive hops in a hutch this size. And as for your suggestion that 60% of this would be open to the air!! This would mean that the 40% (approx 14 inches by your measurements) remaining would mean the rabbit may not even be able to lay down in the sheltered area! Indeed our own rabbits could barely sit comfortably in such a small area. To quote the RWA on the matter of hutch sizes: "Hutches can never be too big. The minimum size for average sized rabbits is 5 foot long, 2 feet deep and 2 feet high. Exercise runs should also be as large as possible; ideally, at least 8 feet x 4 feet x 2 feet high. Instead of the traditional rabbit hutch, why not make your rabbit habitat an attractive garden feature? Be imaginative... garden sheds; summerhouses; or wooden Wendy Houses with an aviary/run built on the side (accessed via a cat flap) make ideal homes." This makes the accomodation you describe sound pitiful. Indeed someone taking your advice on this would end up with a rabbit in a pretty pitiful condition without any doubt at all. I think that this paragraph is perhaps the most disturbing on your website. "A wire-metting or weld mesh floor helps prevent foot-soiling." I am so angered by this statement. Yes, I'm sure that a wire floor will prevent soiling. It will also successfully cause extreme discomfort to the animals feet which will become sore and disfigured and develop over grown claws which will in turn catch on the mesh. The animals weight will be thrown backwards and it will develop sore hocks. Rabbits feet were never designed to walk on wire mesh! That is appauling. They should be given a comfortable, soft but firm base to walk on, just as nature intended. Asking them to live on a wire mesh floor is asking for trouble. In any case, a rabbit which is kept on appropriate bedding and is cleaned out every 2-3 days, with their litter trays cleaning daily will never suffer from foot soiling. Rabbits confined in this way will quickly become depressed (with the associated problems of poor immunity, agression and GI stasis) and will develop back problems, muscle wasting and osteoporosis. Most will begin to self harm to alleviate the boredom. I note you also do not mention any kind of stimulation, or toys for your rabbit in solitary confinement. Once again to quote the RWA "Rabbits need things to keep them occupied, such as plastic tunnels; large plant pots; hay-filled litter trays and planters of earth to dig in. Wild rabbits spend several hours foraging for food daily, so use your imagination when feeding your bunny. Scatter food on the floor of the hutch/run rather than feeding in a bowl, and provide constant access to hay."
Litter in the hutch should be absorbent. Peat moss is best......... because of the tendency of rabbits to chew (and swallow) their bedding.
Again, this is codswallop. I would never even consider keeping our rabbits on peat moss. The reason rabbits have a "tendancy" to chew and swallow their bedding is that they are grazing animals used to eating what is under foot. Hence, an absorbant bedding such as "megazorb" topped with a layer of edible bedding such as good quality hay is preferable and will encourage continual wear of their teeth. Peat moss encourages microorganisms to grow in the bedding and is NOT advisable. Over the years we have tried many different kinds of bedding, but peat moss is a recipie for illness and blistered sore feet as the rabbit tramps around in a "bog" in its hutch.
It is the responsibility of companies such as yours to promote health and welbeing in all animals be this pets, breeding stock or even lab animals. To put this kind of misleading and generalised information out into the public domain is grossly irresponsible in the extreme.
I will be contacting everyone I know in the animal welfare circles to bring their attention to this situation including all the veterinary practices In my area. I will be urging them to boycott the use of your products, and I will personally ensure none of your products are used in our rescue centre, until such time as this misleading information is removed from your website. I suggest that if you wish to use an animal "care" page to shamelessly promote the use of your products, that you are very very not to upset the very people who care for and advocate for the animals you claim to help with your medications and products. In my mind you have shown very clearly your business is nt animal welfare, but is instead profit and sales. This is most dissapointing.
You mention at the bottom of the piece on "care" that people should join the "British House Rabbit Association"...you should note they no longer exist and are now the Rabbit Welfare Association and the details you have given for them are also out of date. I will be sending this e-mail to them...and I feel fairly sure they will be as appauled as I am about the content of your site and the implication that they have somehow endorsed what you have written by putting their details at the bottom of the page in the same type face as the rest of your information.
I await your swiftest possible response.
Regards
Lorna Fields
Bailey says:
"Dont Breed or Buy while animals in rescues die"
www.greenfieldsrescue.co.uk
01344 488208
07739 147266
lorna.field@virgin.net