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opinions appreciated

M

mum2buns

Warren Scout
As some of you will know (having read my postings on here) there is a gorgeous bunny loose on the grounds of uni accommodation in York.
It would appear it's a she and has had possibly several litters of rabbits with a wild rabbit.
It uses a rabbit burrow - we, sadly, found dead baby bunnies near the burrow.
My lovely friend (who is a real rabbit expert and runs a rabbit rescue) tells me the big problem is that if this bunny now has a husbunny it could be a problem and it is obviously used to being free now so may get depressed if domesticated again - also it obviously has baby bunnies now.
I have been in contact with 2 lovely people from a rabbit rescue who are happy to take this bunny and help me catch her if we think it's the right thing to do.
It would appear she has been loose now for around 6 months at least. Would I be doing her more harm than good by catching her or does she need to be caught and given a loving home? She is clearly a domesticated rabbit and I am really worried about her.
Thought I would get general opinions before heading for York again - I have contacted the officials at the uni to see if they can help. I am more worried that this bunny will keep having more and more babies and more and more will die.
I also don't like to think of her living in the wild when she's domesticated. Trying to weigh up pros and cons before I do anything else.
 
It looks like a few people have read and nobody knows the answer. Sorry, I don't either I'm sure between you you will make the right decision. The fact is she is vulnerable out in the wild but seemingly happy. A tough call:?
 
What colour/breed is she?

Some people don't realise that wild rabbits can come in colours other than brown, like black. This is naturally occurring.

I would tend to think she is actually a wild rabbit, and if not is probably happiest left where she is now. She must have been free for some time to have been accepted by a male wild rabbit.
 
Mandy said:
What colour/breed is she?

Some people don't realise that wild rabbits can come in colours other than brown, like black. This is naturally occurring.

I would tend to think she is actually a wild rabbit, and if not is probably happiest left where she is now. She must have been free for some time to have been accepted by a male wild rabbit.
Click to expand...

I was just going to say that

When i drive to Scarborough every Thurs - last year there was what I could swear was a NZ White. This year - I have seen several white rabbits - & all are quite large for wild buns:D
 
I have seen her and she is definitely not a wild rabbit - nothing like one actually and the babies that were dead were definitely a cross between a wild and domesticated one. She is very, very tame and will go up to people for them to stroke her and to get food. The wild rabbits won't they run like mad!!! - she is absolutely gorgeous.
 
yes it is you are correct. It will come to my niece for a stroke and to collect food but it soon realises if you are trying to catch it (a bit like my 2 actually and although my 2 are domesticated rabbits if I had a huge area to try to catch them in like there is at York Uni I wouldn't stand a chance). I think most of us will have had that problem at some time or another :lol:
There is no doubt she's an escaped pet rabbit but I just wonder if leaving her there is the best thing for her.
It became very diffcult to catch her on the night we tried as students were helping her escape - they thought it was cute she was having babies (albeit some of those babies are not surviving).
Happy to do whatever my good bunny friends think is right in this instance.
 
Hi,

In my personal opinion if she has been free for 6 months I would leave her be.
She has survived this long and seems to be ok, it may sound harsh but you don't know she may have babies that are relying on her to feed etc.

Live long and free little bunny

Maureen
 
as I said I am more than happy to do whatever people think is right for this bunny (I was going to say little bunny but she's definitely not little). I was worried that if we caught her and she'd just given birth there'd be little baby buns to worry about also
When we first set out to try to catch her I hadn't realised just how "involved" she was in the local rabbit community or if she was a boy or girl. I don't really know now if she's a girl - just assuming it actually :?
 
obviously without checking her properly it's difficult to know if she's the husbun or the wifebun (is that the correct word for bunny wife?????) also it is impossible to know just how many babies there are out there. Do you think that's a worry (ie her/him continuing to have lots and lots of babies) I'm worried the uni will get fed up of so many rabbits and what can they do if they get overun?? so much going through my mind - I just want to do what's right
 
Im not sure whether she should be left. Because she has adapted to the outside for around six months for me would not be an issue. She would be unvaccinated and therefore not live as long in the wild. If she was 100% a domesticated bunny, I would rescue her.

I realize its a difficult decision to make and Im sure there would be advantages and disadvantages for both. I see that most people are leaning towards leaving her, but Im not sure about this one.
 
my gut reaction (as you have probably guessed as I did try to rescue her) was to rescue her as I was worried about her. I just couldn't get it out of my head that she was not a wild rabbit therefore shouldn't be living wild. As I said there is a rescue willing to take her if I catch her - but what if there are baby rabbits relying on her - what a dilemma. Wish my niece hadn't seen her but there you go. Now she has I feel responsible in some way.
 
Yeah, having more information, I'm leaning towards catching her but still only about 60/40 on it. Her immune system would be weaker than a wild bunny and mixing with them is obviously a risk. 'She' might be 'he' in which case the babes would be okay with their wild mum. If she is as tame as you say then she will probably adapt to being a 'kept' bunny quite easily. though if she is really attached to her other half she may pine badly if separated. If I was the person considering catching her, the biggest concern for her safety would be the people who think tying fireworks to cats etc is funny... she is vulnerable to that sort of person being able to catch her if she is fairly tame.

Whatever decision you make, your making it for the right reasons! Good luck with it.
 
thanks Bunny Buddy - it's so difficult isn't it? Kay (she's really knowledgeable about rabbits) also said it might be difficult for bun if he/she has a bonded partner and she/he might pine so I am very worried about that. Gosh aren't rabbits a worry??? :?
 
I still would leave her, weighing it up there are more negatives to catching her than not in my opinion.

Pro catching
Safe

Anti catching
Could leave babies behind
Will miss friend
Used to freedom now
 
like the idea of doing pros and cons
can anyone add to this then?
pros -
keep her/him safe
ensure doesn't have medical problems eg dental probs
give it a loving home as will go to a rescue
no worry about it struggling to find food when the students leave for the summer
cons -
might leave partner and babies behind
might be used to being wild now and miss freedom
 
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