You know, it's really nice to see people on here who're realistic about genuinely worrying conditions. As I said before, I really commend everyone who's enthusiastic about rescue and welfare, but it really comes down to where to draw the line. Opinions on this thread are not black and white - this isn't a case of obvious neglect or cruelty, and you have to bear two things in mind: first, you don't know any of the circumstances as to why the bun's in that particular hutch with that particular run and alone (illness, recovery, recent bereavement, neutering, fostering, daytime only etc); and second, just because
you (plural) think the hutch is too small or whatever, doesn't necessarily make it so. The fact they've spent money on a carry case should suggest they're actually being responsible - if it's used to take the bun to the vet, it's actually
going to the vet, which is more care than a lot of owners give.
For all we know, this bun may come into the house in the evenings and have more exercise and freedom than most buns who stay in the garden but have a larger run and a larger hutch.
Honestly, if you saw the 'observation' hutch Saxon's in at the moment before the neuter and until she's bonded with Tank you'd definitely think I'm a cruel owner - it's a Nero 4 from P@H. She definitely can't stand up in it. But then you wouldn't necessarily be seeing that she only goes in there for an hour or so at a time to have a drink and chill out. At night she's in a 6' x 3.5' hutch in the conservatory and during the day I alternate Tank being out with Saxon being out. When Tank's in his hutch, Saxon's door is left open and she quite often goes back in there for a flop down - bearing in mind we've made tons of bunny-proof hiding/chill-out places around the room, I can only assume she quite likes her daytime abode
Tank was all alone until we rescued Saxon, and he still hasn't been able to be bonded with her. We're probably looking at December/January at the earliest, which'll mean Tank's had 5-6 months without being able to snuggle up with another bun. Am I neglecting him?
I'm not entirely sure how I'd react if someone tried to lecture me on proper care for my pets. Assuming I wasn't obviously neglecting or abusing my pets, and someone was lecturing simply because they disagreed with the way I've done something, I'd hope they'd have the plums to tell me to my face and perhaps listen to my reasons. Even then, I'm so passionate about being a good pet owner, I'd still be p*ssed off someone was even daring to suggest I was a bad owner and forcing me to justify myself unnecessarily.
I guess you have to ask yourself the following: from what you've seen, is this situation bad enough to report to the RSPCA?
