Spay & Neuter Your Bunnies

I would like to encourage people to spay & neuter their bunnies, and for them to encourage it too. So many unwated bunnies are out there because people are irresponsible & breed them....then decide it's to much and then abandon them. How would you feel if you were abandoned? You would feel sad. Think about how those bunnies unwanted feel. Also, not being spayed or neutered, it can cause cancer in bunnies. So please think twice before breeding & making a desicion not to spay/neuter. Also, Pet Supplies Plus has "Spay & Neuter Your Pet" & "Save Lives" bracelets for people so think about buying on of those. I am.


SPAY & NEUTER YOUR PETS SAVE LIVES

hi

Hi

I agree, adding to the population with any animal is not good, spaying/neutering is much more common nowdays, years ago the anaesthetics were more risky, now days altho still risky in rabbits, they are much more safer and advanced the advantages of the op are good.

I have my boy done, I have his sister who isnt but then he is, they play lovely and he has got a new lease of life with his new play mate, so sweet to watch them.

sweety

got to agree with you both there. all our rabbits which leave our rescue are neutered ,females as well as males. costs the charity a lot but at least we know they wont be able to add to the unwanted bunnies out there.
angie

hi

Hi

You know years ago (changing the species) there always use to be dogs straying the streets. Im glad to say that nowadays people do spay their dogs. Too many blooming cats about though :lol: not that im complaining, its just I have to watch my bunnies very carefully when out and of course they are not just left on their won..

Sweety

Whenever I sell kittens as pets I always advise again and again for people to neuter their rabbit. I feel so sorry for not only unwanted rabbits bred by mistake, but also for the does who go through hell and are labeled 'vicious' just because their owner has not spayed them and they are overwhelmed with hormones! That just makes me so mad! :evil:

I agree, both my girls are spayed!

I agree,
Smokie is going to be spayed when she is old enough

hi

When I adopted my 5 girls I said of course I would be getting them all spayed ASAP - the lady running the rescue was horrified - to my suprise! She believes that rabbits get so stressed out by the operation and by the effect of the anaesthetic and recouperation period, that it shortens their life anyway - So I don't know what to think any more...I'm postponing the decision till they're 2 anyway - they're not likely to get full blown cancer before then I believe. She neuters all the males as it's a quicker op so less time under the anaesthetic....sometimes wish I had a crystal ball :roll:

Cloverleaf_stud said:

Whenever I sell kittens as pets I always advise again and again for people to neuter their rabbit. I feel so sorry for not only unwanted rabbits bred by mistake, but also for the does who go through **** and are labeled 'vicious' just because their owner has not spayed them and they are overwhelmed with hormones! That just makes me so mad! :evil:

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O.K so here's just a thought - could it not work if you kept the kittens longer until they were old enough to have spayed and netured and then increase the cost that you sell them at.

With all the will in the world and your good intentions I think once folks have the bunny it seems a lot of folks just won't pay to have them done :?:

I agree that rescues should only rehome neutered animals and if they can't aford to neuter then should either reduce their numbers so that they can. Or take the adoption fee and get the animal done once it has a reserve on it . But before it goes to it's new home.
Someone in this topic stated that we couldn't charge £50 as an adoption fee as it would be too much. But if your one of the rescues telling people you expect them to get their animals neutered then the new owner still has to find that £50 plus the fee of adopting it so why can't that money be asked for before that animal leaves. Going to it's new home already done.

Slightly of topic but if more animals were being neutered in the rescues then those rescues that seem to be having problems keeping males and females seperate(and these's a few of them about) also wouldn't have a problem with their extra numbers.

I stopped letting baby animals go a good 3years plus. My reasons being we had a couple of cases were the animals after care wasn't followed through this meant one animal ended up dead and another ended up with months of treatment before coming back in for rehoming.
I have also had people disappear so that we can't get animals bcak in for neutering, or that have snatched a quick litter before the operation time.
Also if you have rehomed a baby animal then ask for it back to neuter how do you explain to a child/family that there much loved pet hasn't made it through the operation that you have insisted on.

I'm sorry but I'm also a one man band and I've managed over the last 5 years to find the funds to neuter every animal that leaves here.
If things are tight then they wait until some one either puts a reserve on them with a deposit or until one, that's ready to go finds a home.
Yes it is difficult at times and yes I do have an outstanding bill at the vets but it needs to be done and I feel that it's a rescues responsibility to do there best to keep the problem under control.

tracy.

I have to agree with you 100% about it being better to nueter before re homing. we always do with ours but it is costly.

well i for one would pay for the cost of the neuter done to the rescue. i have often gave donations for bunnys of £50 and even had to do the castration myself, i would prefer to give the rescue the extra!

eve x

Re: hi

sweety said:

Hi

You know years ago (changing the species) there always use to be dogs straying the streets.

Sweety

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There still are, if you go on dog rescue forums you will find that there are local authority dog pounds full to bursting with unwanted & unneutered dogs picked up off the street & there are volunteers who actually try to foster bitches that have given birth/about to give birth in kennels.

Unforunately they do go somewhere after being collected off the street, if they are not claimed/adopted within 7 days they are PTS. although i do understand that there is greater education on this subject these days, it does still happen though.

buns

Well said Tracy!

And Cheryl..yes poundies are a real sad problem..I'm a volunteer transporter. We ring round our local rescues and try to persuade them to take dogs about to be put down in council pounds.Then we arrange dog runs to get them to safety.I have been in a postion of going into a pound able only to take 2 and there were 8 needing out Legislation on all animals and their ownership is needed.
Just in case anyone is interested and I know it's off the subject,,,but here's a 6 month old girlie who was due to be put to sleep on Saturday..but we got her out She is now called Penny and is safely in a rehoming rescue

If beautiful young dogs like this are being put down every week..what's the hope for the hundreds of rabbits that are unwanted

have to agree with Tracy's words there even when I was a child, my parents had all our pets done (well except my gerbil :wink: ) and this was very rare that many years ago. As Tracy has said, if a person cannot afford to pay the adoption fee for a neutered/speyed rabbit then it is highly unlikey that they will pay for this operation when you actually work out what some adoption fee's are that rescues charge, it is actually cheaper than paying for the op and vaccinations yourself.

My personal opinion is, if someone thinks that an adoption fee is to much to pay for any animal then I would be wondering if they could afford to keep and maintain the animal and would they pay for vet bills should the animal be seriously ill :? A true animal lover in my eyes puts the love of animals first regardless of the cost

Perhaps those rescues who are struggling with funds could take the adoption fee up front and get the bun done before it goes to its new home :wink: if a potential new owner did not want to do this then maybe it would be better that they seek a bun else where.

I think it would give peace of mind to those running rescues if they knew their bunnies were not going to be accidentally bred or used for breeding surely

Definitely. I certainly wouldn't mind paying more at the rescue. However, I also do get my animals 'done'. The thing that concerns me as well is that a spay/neuter is a one off thing. As you rightly say Denny, if a person can't afford the one-off adoption/operation, how are they going to feed, vaccinate etc over a period of time.

Denny said:

if a potential new owner did not want to do this then maybe it would be better that they seek a bun else where.

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To me this is a really important point. It just goes to show how important education and changing people's attitudes is. If you refuse people a rabbit (and I'm not saying you should go dishing them out willy-nilly) they will probably end up going to a breeder or a pet shop to get one. So not only is it adding to the problem, there is a fair chance that they may well end up not being advised, and getting just one, and a small hutch to keep it in.

How on earth do we get the fundamental messages of rabbit welfare across, without sounding like a bunch of fanatics, which I fear many people think we do! Even normal, sane people I know think that I'm nuts for having a shed for my rabbits, and wonder why on earth I think it's important to get them neutered. How do we make people see that this is not fanatical, it is merely being a responsible owner?

AlisonA said:

Denny said:

if a potential new owner did not want to do this then maybe it would be better that they seek a bun else where.

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To me this is a really important point. It just goes to show how important education and changing people's attitudes is. If you refuse people a rabbit (and I'm not saying you should go dishing them out willy-nilly) they will probably end up going to a breeder or a pet shop to get one. So not only is it adding to the problem, there is a fair chance that they may well end up not being advised, and getting just one, and a small hutch to keep it in.

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well, how I see it is, a good breeder will give the right advise and will get a general understanding from the potential new owner as to whether they are a suitable canditate to have one of their bunnies :wink: we have heard from some breeders on here who have refused to let a bunny go to an interested party and I think this has been the same for some rescuers who have asked questions to potential new owners and decided that they would not rehome one to them :wink:

My understanding of animal welfare is that you put the animal first, if someone is not prepared to follow the advise from a rescue then they will not follow the advise from a petshop even if the petshop were up on rabbit education

dont get me wrong Alison, I certainly agree with you that education plays a big part in all of this but the biggest problem is buying on a whim it is so easy to purchase any small animal from a petshop that some people just dont stop and think now if the petshops were to give the right education and facts about rabbits, I bet the cost alone of neutering, vaccinations and potential yearly vet costs due to illness or teeth problems would deter anyone from purchasing a rabbit on a whim but it is highly unlikely a petshop would disclose such facts as their sales would probably drop dramatically and i dont think they would like that too much :wink: :lol: :lol:

hhhmmmm, being driven to purchase from a bad breeder, now that could swing two ways. I dont have much knowledge in this department but I would assume that there would be many forms of disabilities produced from interbreeding etc as a bad breeder does'nt really know the in's and out's of good genetics etc which would result in new owners constantly having problems or even a high rate of deaths which, would probably put any owner off for life or, could produce a lot of complaints from the new owners placed upon the bad breeder :? :? its a difficult one to judge really :?

i am crying and kicking myself at the moment, i had a bun spayed and she pulled her stitches out twice, so has been operated on and restitched and glued twice and bandaged! i took her back today and the vet took the bandage off and checked her wound that is now massivly infected she is now undergoing a third op to remove the infected tissue etc my vet says it does not look good and if she makes it through the op then wants to rebandage and change every 2 days.i am now questioning myself as was it necessary to get her spayed as i was pairing her up with a neutered male anyway....and if i had'nt she would now not be in the position she is now in....bordering rainbow bridge

i have got my male done but not my girls as yet.

the reason is because i have 2 sets of bonded girls i want them to go in together, rather than having to do everybody seperate, plus pebbles hasn't 'come of age yet' so i am saving and getting ready for when my girls start going in