Do You Think Captive Rabbit Welfare Has Improved Over the Last 10 Years ?

[InspectorMorse]

I have kept Pet Rabbits since January 1998. I don’t know how much, if any, improvement I have seen in the public’s knowledge about Rabbit Welfare as I mostly only interact (via the internet) with the already converted. I don’t doubt that most Rescues would say that no, the situation regarding Rabbit Welfare is as bad as ever. Maybe even worse.

On a personal level I have 100% improved in my knowledge thanks to the information obtained from Rabbit welfare groups such as the RWAF etc. Recently I was looking at photos of how I used to keep my previous Rabbits and I cringe with shame. I also remember the dreadful diets I fed to them.

So, you folk who live in the real world rather than in Hermit Land like me, what is your opinion on the state of Rabbit Welfare in 2023. I am referring to Pet Rabbit owners, Rabbit Breeders and Exhibitors. Also, the extent of knowledge about Rabbits within the Veterinary profession. Are Rabbit Savvy Vets still a very ‘rare breed’ ?

 

[Shimmer]

I think that for those who want to look after a pet properly and do some research beforehand, the situation for rabbits has improved dramatically. The internet makes it a lot easier as well for both gaining knowledge on the species and for obtaining items relating to their upkeep.

Unfortunately, I would agree that the situation won't be much different for many rabbits as the first point of contact / purchase will be the only one, along with whatever previous or experience knowledge the new owner had - which means that the rabbit is likely to be permanently kept on its own in a 4' hutch with a large bowl of muesli, sawdust on the floor, a bottle of water and attention once a week - and will never see a vet for neutering, vaccination, etc. It will be expected to make it to 3 or 4 years old and then replaced.

I don't have much experience of rabbit breeders. I have had rabbits from hobby and accidental rabbit breeders in the past, but only ones that had decent size accommodation and the rabbits had plenty of grass / hay so they at least had a chance of a decent start in life. There are some bigger setups which are in business to breed and sell rabbits and I am much less comfortable with those, especially for the long haired breeds which require more dedication to maintenance. I suspect some of my rabbits initially came from some of those places and the owners gave them up to rescue or private rehoming (from microchips and birth certificate info that came with the rabbit).

I think rescues do a fabulous job in general (there are a few I don't agree with, though) and are very under rated. Same with vets, but I would choose a rabbit vet with more care than say for a cat or dog - which means doing your own research again so you know what to look for and what to avoid.

Some pet shops have improved slightly - they offer slightly bigger hutches and optional runs, but there's still a very long way to go with rabbit welfare if you are still allowed to walk in and buy a single rabbit and a 5' hutch, a bag of wood shavings, a bag of pellets, loads of toys and treats, maybe a small bag of hay or straw for bedding but no mention of hay as the main part of the diet.

It would make a huge difference if the only hutches available were 6' ones with attached runs, the rabbits were already neutered / had vouchers for neutering and hay was frequently mentioned. That would put the price up and make them much less attractive as pets, though. But it may stop a lot of impulse purchases as well - which is the main issue I have with pet shops. You can still pretty much just walk in, choose a pet and go home with it with no forethought. Some places ask you to prove what accommodation you have for a new pet if you are not buying theirs, which is better but not foolproof.

I still think that the best thing for pet welfare is time - not to be allowed to walk in and acquire a pet without thinking about it. You should have to make an appointment to collect a few days after the initial viewing. If you can't wait that long, then you didn't really consider the animal's needs before the impulse buy.

 

[InspectorMorse]

I think that for those who want to look after a pet properly and do some research beforehand, the situation for rabbits has improved dramatically. The internet makes it a lot easier as well for both gaining knowledge on the species and for obtaining items relating to their upkeep.

Unfortunately, I would agree that the situation won't be much different for many rabbits as the first point of contact / purchase will be the only one, along with whatever previous or experience knowledge the new owner had - which means that the rabbit is likely to be permanently kept on its own in a 4' hutch with a large bowl of muesli, sawdust on the floor, a bottle of water and attention once a week - and will never see a vet for neutering, vaccination, etc. It will be expected to make it to 3 or 4 years old and then replaced.

I don't have much experience of rabbit breeders. I have had rabbits from hobby and accidental rabbit breeders in the past, but only ones that had decent size accommodation and the rabbits had plenty of grass / hay so they at least had a chance of a decent start in life. There are some bigger setups which are in business to breed and sell rabbits and I am much less comfortable with those, especially for the long haired breeds which require more dedication to maintenance. I suspect some of my rabbits initially came from some of those places and the owners gave them up to rescue or private rehoming (from microchips and birth certificate info that came with the rabbit).

I think rescues do a fabulous job in general (there are a few I don't agree with, though) and are very under rated. Same with vets, but I would choose a rabbit vet with more care than say for a cat or dog - which means doing your own research again so you know what to look for and what to avoid.

Some pet shops have improved slightly - they offer slightly bigger hutches and optional runs, but there's still a very long way to go with rabbit welfare if you are still allowed to walk in and buy a single rabbit and a 5' hutch, a bag of wood shavings, a bag of pellets, loads of toys and treats, maybe a small bag of hay or straw for bedding but no mention of hay as the main part of the diet.

It would make a huge difference if the only hutches available were 6' ones with attached runs, the rabbits were already neutered / had vouchers for neutering and hay was frequently mentioned. That would put the price up and make them much less attractive as pets, though. But it may stop a lot of impulse purchases as well - which is the main issue I have with pet shops. You can still pretty much just walk in, choose a pet and go home with it with no forethought. Some places ask you to prove what accommodation you have for a new pet if you are not buying theirs, which is better but not foolproof.

I still think that the best thing for pet welfare is time - not to be allowed to walk in and acquire a pet without thinking about it. You should have to make an appointment to collect a few days after the initial viewing. If you can't wait that long, then you didn't really consider the animal's needs before the impulse buy.

I haven’t been into a Pet Shop for years so I have no idea what things are like now as far as the sale of Rabbits goes. My first Rabbits were an impulse buy from Petsmart now Pets at Home. I was sold one Rabbit with a ‘starter’ set up- a 4ft hutch, a bag of sawdust, a bag of muesli, a sipper bottle, a bag of hay, a salt lick and a plastic food bowl. The Bunny, Eleanor (Elie) a beautiful Black Otter Standard Rex, was never locked in the hutch as even though I knew absolutely nothing about Rabbits I knew I couldn’t lock her into such a small space. She had free roam of the kitchen, with the hutch as a base. I also went back to Petsmart the next day to buy another Rabbit from the litter as I felt guilty going to bed and leaving Elie in the Kitchen on her own. Back then at the point of sale there was no advice about how to care for a Rabbit.

I don’t think any animal should be sold from a Pet Shop, but I doubt that situation will ever materialise.

People need to have the common sense and motivation to research about caring for Rabbits (or any Pet), but sadly it seems those two attributes are rare. Society today is so ‘I want, so I will have’ and everything has to happen immediately. I don’t think most people put as much thought into buying a Rabbit as they might do into buying a dog. But IME Rabbits are a lot harder to care for properly than a dog.

I don’t agree with some of the ways in which the Rabbit Welfare message is communicated, or some of the messages themselves. But over-all I do believe that organisations such as the RWAF have made a difference, in a positive way.

From personal experience I have found *some* Rescues can be rather intimidating and more likely to push people toward buying from Petshops and Breeders. I am in the minority in that I don’t consider all Breeders to be the devil incarnate. I have a couple of friends who breed once a year and their set ups are as good as if not better than mine. They give just as much *good* advice and ongoing aftercare as any Rescue. But I appreciate that some people will see it as black and white- already too many Rabbits in Rescue, so breeding more is wrong as it just adds to the problem.

 

[SarahP]

No, I don't. Or for guinea pigs or hamsters either. That or the changes are way too small and gradual to detect. My feeling is that there have been changes if you go back 20 years, but not noticeably in the last 10.

For me, I think the biggest change would be if they stopped selling pets in shops. Not just for the obvious effect on rescues, but for the psychological 'children's pets' thing, and that people would stop seeing the sorts of pets that are sold in pet shops as different somehow to other pets.

 

[Shimmer]

'Society today is so ‘I want, so I will have’ and everything has to happen immediately.'

So true about so many things in today's society, unfortunately, and with so many unforseen consequences.

Dogs - people often don't put much thought into getting one, either - then they expect the cute fluffy puppy to be instantly housetrained and know how to sit, come, etc without having to do any of the work. Some still think that the more they pay / better the pedigree, the more this is going to be true. Having issues with a neighbour at the moment who won't listen to a couple of us and has never had a dog (or any pet) before. We are already asking around for rehoming it, and she's not got / ordered it yet. We can just see how it's going to end up.

 

[Graciee]

'Society today is so ‘I want, so I will have’ and everything has to happen immediately.'

So true about so many things in today's society, unfortunately, and with so many unforseen consequences.

Dogs - people often don't put much thought into getting one, either - then they expect the cute fluffy puppy to be instantly housetrained and know how to sit, come, etc without having to do any of the work. Some still think that the more they pay / better the pedigree, the more this is going to be true. Having issues with a neighbour at the moment who won't listen to a couple of us and has never had a dog (or any pet) before. We are already asking around for rehoming it, and she's not got / ordered it yet. We can just see how it's going to end up.

I wonder if that's me tbh, I'm rather impulsive with animals I think. I decided to take Freddie 10 mins after hearing about him basically, and as soon as I met him I was like yep I'll take him! [emoji38] But I do care and want to provide the best for him.

Atticus and Clementine, decided I wanted a pet, found a breeder and went and got them, only went for Atticus left with Clementine too, I knew basics on buns as I'd had two mini lops for 10 years, but I learnt an awful lot once I got Atticus and Clementine home, especially after Clementine had her health problem. Again though Apricot and Penelope, I knew the stuff by that point but I saw them in adoption centre, asked at till when I was buying some bits, heard their story and immediately said I'll take them, Michael was like whaaaaaaat [emoji38]

Guinea pigs I got from a rescue so I had to have some video calls etc and show I had all their bits ready then I had to drive to ARCs part of London for their bonding date [emoji38] so that was a bit longer maybe.

I think it's just so easy to go buy a pet now, like I could buy another dog today if I wanted to. I think that's problematic tbh because it allows people to be impulsive, but not everyone has the money, time and want to do their absolute best for an animal and people who have never had a pet before.. Especially a dog would have no idea what they're getting themselves into, it's a hell of a lot of work! And not something to get yourself into unless you're ready. Like i had no idea when I took on Freddie what was going to happen with my grandad, but that landed Michael who has never had a dog or even spent time with one before alone with a toddler and puppy a lot of the time as I was always at the hospital [emoji51] that wasn't easy, although he did a fantastic job tbh. Our WhatsApps back then are purely, puppy related [emoji38] my next step it to get Michael to do some training with Freddie coz he hasn't yet! [emoji38]

To answer the original q, I think things have got a bit better and there's loads of info online now which helps, but whilst pets at home is selling rabbits and small cages as full enclosures, I don't think it'll fully improve. Also backyard breeders need to stop being a thing too.

Sorry for the ramble!

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

 

[Shimmer]

It's the small owner-run pet shops that are so variable and often don't offer the correct advice or appropriate housing. The chains do at least have some policies in place and can / do refuse a sale if they think it's an inappropriate purchase - though not often enough, imo. The small shops are usually fighting to survive and rely on the small furries to get people through the door. I still really dislike the impulse purchase situation. Pets are not throw away items - it's a lifetime of commitment. The chains often won't reserve a pet so you can get set up for it and collect later. It's still first come, first served - which I think is totally wrong where animals are involved.

If I ever get involved in pets for sale / rehome on one of the usual big websites, I always take a suitable carrier but leave it in the car until I've seen the pet (unless it's a pre-arranged pick up for a rescue). It makes it easier to walk away if there are any issues eg a risk of infecting my current pets as their welfare comes first, no matter what.

 

[InspectorMorse]

It's the small owner-run pet shops that are so variable and often don't offer the correct advice or appropriate housing. The chains do at least have some policies in place and can / do refuse a sale if they think it's an inappropriate purchase - though not often enough, imo. The small shops are usually fighting to survive and rely on the small furries to get people through the door. I still really dislike the impulse purchase situation. Pets are not throw away items - it's a lifetime of commitment. The chains often won't reserve a pet so you can get set up for it and collect later. It's still first come, first served - which I think is totally wrong where animals are involved.

If I ever get involved in pets for sale / rehome on one of the usual big websites, I always take a suitable carrier but leave it in the car until I've seen the pet (unless it's a pre-arranged pick up for a rescue). It makes it easier to walk away if there are any issues eg a risk of infecting my current pets as their welfare comes first, no matter what.

The reason I stopped going into any Pet Shop that sold Rabbits was because I knew no matter how much I told myself not to buy a Rabbit who looked to be suffering (because another one would just come in to take his /her place) I would never be able to just walk away.

 

[SarahP]

It's the small owner-run pet shops that are so variable and often don't offer the correct advice or appropriate housing. The chains do at least have some policies in place and can / do refuse a sale if they think it's an inappropriate purchase - though not often enough, imo.

I totally agree. While I'd love to see pets no longer sold in shops at all, this has at least moved on. The last time I bought a pet in a shop was about.... 2005, and we didn't get asked a single thing. We got out of there with one female guinea pig (to bond with a bereaved one in a hurry) and I remember saying that they never even asked whether we had a cage, or who she would be living with, whether we intended to breed from her etc. At least they ask some questions now.

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

No because there are too many ignorant people and I swear people are becoming more stupid.

 

[InspectorMorse]

I swear people are becoming more stupid.

…..and not just about Rabbit Welfare.