Demesticated rabbits spotted at Epping forest

[Lord Trellis]

So a while ago I made a similar post about this but I can't find it because it was quite some time ago.

One day when I was going for a walk at a certain part of Epping forest I spotted a domesticated rabbit, this was no wild rabbit. I was light brown and white and much larger than a wild bunny. I could tell by the shape of it and the coloring that it wasn't a wild rabbit and other people have said they have seen pure white rabbits and other colors in that woodland. I was speaking with a friend this morning about it and apparently there are more there and with Easter just gone it really makes me wonder. There are a few farms near by so I'm wondering if they are purposely being released or there escaping.

I'm heading up there today to the area to see if I can spot any or maybe even see if I can find out more about those farms near by.

 

[Lord Trellis]

I'm back... I have seen them I got real close to one it was white with black around the eyes, I almost caught it but the trick is not to chase them but too approach them slowly. I'm gonna bring some bunny food with me and go back tomorrow to see if I can catch some.

I will also need help to find homes or rescues to take them once any are captured. I have asked my mom if I can take them to her house and I have a spare dog create to keep them in until I can find a rescue or homes for them.

 

[joey&boo]

I'm back... I have seen them I got real close to one it was white with black around the eyes, I almost caught it but the trick is not to chase them but too approach them slowly. I'm gonna bring some bunny food with me and go back tomorrow to see if I can catch some.

I will also need help to find homes or rescues to take them once any are captured. I have asked my mom if I can take them to her house and I have a spare dog create to keep them in until I can find a rescue or homes for them.

what will you do with them if you do catch some?

 

[Lord Trellis]

what will you do with them if you do catch some?

It all depends how many I get.... I'll only be able to get two at a time.

I don't actually have a plan but I can't just leave them there because its so sad to see them in the woods. I will look for homes for them somehow or try find an animal charity to take them at least then they are out of danger.

 

[joey&boo]

It all depends how many I get.... I'll only be able to get two at a time.

I don't actually have a plan but I can't just leave them there because its so sad to see them in the woods. I will look for homes for them somehow or try find an animal charity to take them at least then they are out of danger.

Whilst its lovely you want to help I really think there needs to be a plan. Can you call some local rescues and see if they are aware of the situation (I think thats likely) & ask for advice? How do the rabbits seem? Are they healthy looking?

 

[Shimmer]

I would be very wary of catching them yourself - you are putting your own rabbits at risk from various diseases, and you need places lined up if they are to go to local rescues. Informing he RSPCA or other local rescues and letting them catch them using appropriate traps, etc is probably a more effective way forward. It's very difficult to catch a rabbit on the loose on your own, even in an enclosed garden when it's a pet rabbit.

 

[Orenoko]

Report it to the RSPCA and let them handle it. You don't know whether these rabbits have been exposed to any diseases that you could unwittingly transfer, or they could be pregnant etc. A rescue centre would have the space to quarantine them appropriately, vaccinate, deal with any illnesses etc.

 

[Lord Trellis]

They all look healthy, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with them I don't plan on bringing any back to my place I'll be taking them to my moms house and I'll be wearing gloves when handling them. I always carry antibacterial hand gel with me.

The RSPCA didn't want to know... no surprise there but there maybe some rescues or other animal charities that could take them in. Animal charities are over stretched right now so I doubt any of them would be able to come out and set traps etc so its pretty much down to members of the public like me to catch them, get them out of danger and in to a rescue or a home.

Its so sad seeing them all abandoned, people resort to desperate measures because there is simply no help when people try to find it so what happens... people dump there pets. It really gets up my nose when the RSPCA put these commercials on TV about saving abandoned animals but really they are not interested, only when it comes to donations. Alot of animals are suffering because there is no help.

I'm confident I could catch some because I can get really close to them. It all depends on your approach. They are used to humans so its very possible to catch one with out too much effort but if you go chasing them then there all going to get scared and take off running in all different directions and there are main roads near by.

One thing I thought about is maybe knocking up some kinda enclosure for them and ask any of the locals if they could give some a home if I fail to find a place that will take them in. .

 

[joey&boo]

They all look healthy, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with them I don't plan on bringing any back to my place I'll be taking them to my moms house and I'll be wearing gloves when handling them. I always carry antibacterial hand gel with me.

The RSPCA didn't want to know... no surprise there but there maybe some rescues or other animal charities that could take them in. Animal charities are over stretched right now so I doubt any of them would be able to come out and set traps etc so its pretty much down to members of the public like me to catch them, get them out of danger and in to a rescue or a home.

Its so sad seeing them all abandoned, people resort to desperate measures because there is simply no help when people try to find it so what happens... people dump there pets. It really gets up my nose when the RSPCA put these commercials on TV about saving abandoned animals but really they are not interested, only when it comes to donations. Alot of animals are suffering because there is no help.

I'm confident I could catch some because I can get really close to them. It all depends on your approach. They are used to humans so its very possible to catch one with out too much effort but if you go chasing them then there all going to get scared and take off running in all different directions and there are main roads near by.

One thing I thought about is maybe knocking up some kinda enclosure for them and ask any of the locals if they could give some a home if I fail to find a place that will take them in. .

Sounds worse than leaving them where they are

 

[Shimmer]

What about getting the local press involved? A good Easter story with photos, and it will raise awareness of the situation which may then get rescue organisations involved.

If the rabbits are caught, they need to go somewhere that can appropriately house and care for them - starting with vaccination, sexing, neutering / pregnancy checks, etc. Females will almost certainly be pregnant. Is it really fair to land all this on your mum? Who is going to pay for everything? And how is it going to work out differently from the others you took in? It really needs professional input - but you can get the ball rolling by a different approach. Helping to stop the dumping in the first place would be a really good aim.

 

[Orenoko]

What about getting the local press involved? A good Easter story with photos, and it will raise awareness of the situation which may then get rescue organisations involved.

If the rabbits are caught, they need to go somewhere that can appropriately house and care for them - starting with vaccination, sexing, neutering / pregnancy checks, etc. Females will almost certainly be pregnant. Is it really fair to land all this on your mum? Who is going to pay for everything? And how is it going to work out differently from the others you took in? It really needs professional input - but you can get the ball rolling by a different approach. Helping to stop the dumping in the first place would be a really good aim.

Completely agree with this. You can't tell if they're definitely healthy just from looking at them, you certainly can't tell who's vaccinated and neutered/pregnant. If you take them in and then end up with a litter, what's the plan then? Even a basic check up at the vet, they'll all need this but you've said in other threads it's a 2 hour trip for you. Iunderstand wanting to help - I would feel the same - but there has to be a better way than just trying to catch them with no plan for the long term of where they're going to live, who will pay for them to be neutered and vaccinated and deal with any illnesses. Contact local rescues, maybe even a wildlife rescue place for advice or signposting if the RSPCA won't help. I find it very surprising that they won't help considering they are constantly posting pictures on Instagram of animals they've rescued after being dumped, rabbits included.

 

[TheBee]

Completely agree with this. You can't tell if they're definitely healthy just from looking at them, you certainly can't tell who's vaccinated and neutered/pregnant. If you take them in and then end up with a litter, what's the plan then? Even a basic check up at the vet, they'll all need this but you've said in other threads it's a 2 hour trip for you. Iunderstand wanting to help - I would feel the same - but there has to be a better way than just trying to catch them with no plan for the long term of where they're going to live, who will pay for them to be neutered and vaccinated and deal with any illnesses. Contact local rescues, maybe even a wildlife rescue place for advice or signposting if the RSPCA won't help. I find it very surprising that they won't help considering they are constantly posting pictures on Instagram of animals they've rescued after being dumped, rabbits included.

100% this

 

[KarenM]

It might be worth speaking to someone from South Essex Wildlife Hospital. As the name suggests, their main focus is wildlife but they do, on occasions, help with domestic animals too - particularly in situations like this where they've been released into the wild.

https://southessexwildlife.org/

At the very least, they might be able to advise how to proceed or what help is available in the local area.

As others have said, it's admirable that you want to help. But there needs to be a suitable plan of action in place before you consider trying to catch these rabbits yourself.

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[Lord Trellis]

My mom loves bunnies and she is more than happy to take a few but only a few and no more she said. I don't mind paying for vet care for one or two of them now that I've got my own rabbits sorted out.

There was one bunny I really wanted which was the white one with black around the eyes but I wasn't able to catch it and if I did it would have gone to the vet asap and I would keep it. I didn;t come back empty handed tho

After much patience I got two. I think that is all I'm going to get now. I'm shattered. I got a nice grey and white mini lop... I'm taking that to the vets for a check up and then it will be vaccinated and if shes is healthy she will be coming back home with me. She is female. This one I'm going to keep.

The second bunny is a Male all black and feels slightly bloated. He will also be going to the vets but I wont be keeping him I will try re-home this one.

I'll be contacting a few organizations to see if they can get the remaining bunnies.

So tomorrow I'm going to be booking both in for a health check and vaccination but appointments will be separate for each one. The bunnies are separate so no breeding will take place.

 

[Lord Trellis]

I have a vet appointment for the grey and white lop bunny I found which is next week Monday. Hopefully she'll be given a clean bit of health and then I can bring her home. She will be vaccinated too.

 

[Lord Trellis]

She is white on the other side but she kept moving. Does she look ok?

 

[Shimmer]

Any new rabbit needs to be isolated (ie NO contact with existing pet rabbits or via clothing, etc) for at least a couple of weeks to allow for assessment, any diseases to become apparent, pregnancy watch, vaccines to become effective, etc. Any with obvious issues need to be seen by a vet ASAP eg bloating. They should be on a diet they are used to as well, to avoid any digestive issues (ie no pellets if they have been living wild).

If they have been dumped, it's worth getting them checked for a microchip while they are at your vet. Some places and some owners will routinely chip rabbits, so it's always worth checking even if they are not registered to the last owner or were stolen & then dumped.

Just one thought with catching feral rabbits, especially at this time of year - females may be nursing litters, so catching them may mean a litter is also being abandoned.

 

[Lord Trellis]

She will be isolated, she is seeing a rabbit vet on Monday at 10am. She looks like a young rabbit. The vet would be able to check everything such as micro chipping and pregnancy etc.

A domesticated bunny that has a litter in the wild has a very low chance of survival so in my opinion it wouldn't make much difference because either way the rabbits will be caught by predators. Wild rabbits can escape predators but these ones cant.

All good advice tho.

 

[Shimmer]

When is the black one getting a vet check? It sounds like he needs it first if he feels bloated. Presumably if you can get 2 rabbits back home from the forest, you could get them both to the vet at the same time?

You will probably have to remind the vet to check for a microchip - it's not standard practice with rabbits, which is why I mentioned it. You can't assume that they were dumped by their previous owners. I've had rabbits stolen from my garden by kids, and they were abandoned in a sports bag a few days later (I did get them back when their parents reported it). I've also got one that was found in a field off the motorway junction (typical abandonment site). He has very distinctive colouring (I can probably ID the breeder from his appearance), is extremely handleable, and was already neutered - so he was probably not abandoned by his owner, either - someone would definitely be missing him, but the people who picked him up never found the owner.

Rabbits that have been living wild for some time will have been in contact with the usual rabbit viruses and intestinal parasites, which may not be obvious immediately. They may well have bred with wild rabbits, so the offspring stand a reasonable chance of survival compared to purely domesticated rabbits.

 

[Lord Trellis]

When is the black one getting a vet check? It sounds like he needs it first if he feels bloated. Presumably if you can get 2 rabbits back home from the forest, you could get them both to the vet at the same time?

You will probably have to remind the vet to check for a microchip - it's not standard practice with rabbits, which is why I mentioned it. You can't assume that they were dumped by their previous owners. I've had rabbits stolen from my garden by kids, and they were abandoned in a sports bag a few days later (I did get them back when their parents reported it). I've also got one that was found in a field off the motorway junction (typical abandonment site). He has very distinctive colouring (I can probably ID the breeder from his appearance), is extremely handleable, and was already neutered - so he was probably not abandoned by his owner, either - someone would definitely be missing him, but the people who picked him up never found the owner.

Rabbits that have been living wild for some time will have been in contact with the usual rabbit viruses and intestinal parasites, which may not be obvious immediately. They may well have bred with wild rabbits, so the offspring stand a reasonable chance of survival compared to purely domesticated rabbits.

I'll get him to a vet asap I'll book him an appointment either today or tomorrow. He is eating and drinking ok I'm only giving them hay. I'll remember to ask the vet about checking for a microchip for both of them.

I have a friend that recently got a lion head bunny in poor condition that had been past from pillow to post and when it was vet checked it had a micro chip and it turned out to be a rabbit from a rescue center in 2020 but sadly the original owner is no longer around.

There were quite a lot of bunnies released into the woodland which has made me think they came from a nearby farm I'd say there were at least 10