west lodge rural centre in desborough

I visited here today and was not very impressed by the conditions the rabbits were kept in.

There were some really nice outdoor runs where the bunnies had access to grass but I did notice their water bottles were GREEN.

Inside there was even more bunnies including some guinea pigs which were all housed in six separate hutches. These hutches were the small basic ones and looked really dark and dingy. All the bottles were green again and all bowls empty no hay or anything. I opened up the hutch the 2 guinea pigs were in and apart from an empty bowl the WHOLE hutch was bare no newspaper, shavings or bedding.

So while some bunnies looked like they had plently of green grass and space others were shoved in hutches without anything. My friend wondered if they 'rotated' them but even so I didn't think it seemed right.

Not sure what I can do if anything?

The best thing is to write/call and let them know your concerns. You could enclose copies of the RWA leaflets on caring for rabbits (you can print them off their website). Make sure you compliment them on the good bits too and then explain what you were concerned about and maybe suggest some solutions.

It could be they were in the middle of a clean out or something? If the bunnies looked a healthy weight they must have food sometime. If you're not satisfied with how they respond then you could get in touch with the RSPCA or the local environmental health/local authority.

Tam

Thanks Tam, I'll drop them an email.

Hows your bunny by the way? Spudsy is now 9 weeks old moving her into a big indoor rabbit cage today.

Are you sure it was the bottles which were green? It could be that they have probiotic in the water which has a greenish tinge..

Definitely green bottles which haven't been cleaned out! I've put pro-biotic in my rabbits water but its not green, not heard that before!

I have emailed them anyway.

I'd email them/write to them expressing your concerns. I've heard of West Lodge, although I've never been there myself.

Have emailed them but no reply yet.