Pet Shop Rabbits

[nessar]

Personally I wouldn't buy from a pet shop (pets at home) solely due to the fact where they get their bunnies from, which the staff don't even know the answer to. I asked a sales representative about where they got their babies from and response was "oh not local, a breeder in Scotland who supplies all the stores, dont know where though" :shock::shock::shock:

However I personally might buy from a hobby breeder who I have researched and found info on to support a love and care for the welfare of their rabbits.

Not buying from a pet shop for me is to discourage the bunny farms who supply them

I've met one of the breeders for the welsh stores :wave: there is more than one breeder. In fact, my local store had at least 2, as mostly we got dutch ones and then all of a sudden they'd be nethie/lionhead crosses for a few weeks and then back again. I heard locally that the dwarves came from a local backyard breeder that bred them indiscriminately.

I was selling him a camera and we got talking. He said that they did keep them in as good conditions as they could, but that they had over 200 (I think, was a long time ago, could have been a slightly different figure but I remember being shocked by the scale of it) on site at any one time, he implied that perfect conditions were impossible with that number.

He did two types of breeding - pet shop and show, mostly dutch rabbits. They were bred separately and the showing was a new hobby of theirs, but the ones not good enough made their way into the pet shop groups. He was focussing on Beverens, had bought 3 to start from, but I don't think his rabbit knowledge, or indeed genetic knowledge, was good, as he hadn't heard of any colour other than blue in that breed.

I asked him about mis-sexing and he said that it did happen, but it was inevitable as they are hard to sex and that in the process of transporting them from store to store they could get mixed up, particularly once they got to the store.

He said that there was meant to be a cap on how many miles you can travel with the rabbits, but that whilst he kept to the rules, many other P@H breeders didn't and drove them way across the UK.

At the time I saw him, he said that they were starting to breed dogs more instead, as they fetched more money.

 

[countrybumkin]

My Pop's is a pets at home bunny. I do not in any way regret getting her but I will always rescue in future. She is a beautiful little bunny who is more spoilt than I ever thought she would be, however if id done more research before I got her I would have probably got a rescue bun!

 

[DemiS]

Yes pet shop rabbits often turn out fine and deserve love too but the harsh truth is, if people keep 'saving' these pet shop rabbits and giving money to god awful breeding mills you're only encouraging them to breed more. You'll never be able to save all the pet shop rabbits, but the more that are bought the more that are going to be bred and the more that are going to suffer and be without love in the end. It's supply and demand, the more are bought the more they breed, if lots of people start boycotting these pet shops and stop buying pet shop animals then the breeder is forced to cut down, there's no point them spending money on breeding more rabbits that aren't going to sell. And also going back to the mill thing, the people who run breeding mills could not care less about their animals, they'll let the animals inbreed meaning genetic problems are more likely to arise, they'll let ill animals breed meaning the babies are likely to be ill. The amount of people I know that have bought a pet from pets at home and it's died not long after is ridiculous, at least if you go to a rescue the people there actually spend time with each animal, take them to the vets and would be able to spot an illness.

 

[luna]

I got Bobby and Rosie from a pet shop. I would adopt from a reputable rescue if there was one in Dublin but that is not an option.

We only have the dspca who have a terrible reputation , don't neuter or vaccinate and expect a €50 adoption fee.

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[DemiS]

If going to a proper rescue isn't an option there's always facebook selling sites and preloved, gumtree etc. that have rabbits on needing new homes (not babies that are being sold) and you wouldn't be supporting pet shop mills and irresponsible breeders Or failing that, find a responsible breeder. Anything but a pet shop, no responsible breeder would sell to a pet shop unless the pet shop home checked or something and I can't say I've ever heard of that. I'm not judging anyone that's already got a pet shop bun, I understand many people are unaware of how bad these mill places are and fall in love when they see a certain rabbit but I just hope that threads like this do make more people aware of the situation

 

[MightyMax]

The day I visited a rabbit breeder was one of the saddest in my life. All the bunnies separated (not neutered of course), in small cages like living ornaments.

I believe the latest statistics on unwanted bunnies given up to rescues is 67,000 per year .. Many of them will never find a loving home and they will die in rescue ..

 

[foxy2279]

I have four pets at home bunnies. Sadly one has health and behavioural issues. One has tummy issues. Another is currently under investigation for tooth root issues. I wouldn't change them for the world but it's very draining both physically and emotionally trying to keep on top of it all. They are known as the four B's although my husband calls them the money eating machines.

my healthiest rabbits are two little free ad bunnies. Although they are small and still under weight due to their start in life.

If I could do it all again I would look at rescues. My local one doesn't rehome to people with children under 10. Sadly I was unaware of the ones that would rehome nationally when I got the boys. Belle was bought by my mum for my oldest and Bramble was a pets at home adoption.

 

[Bunnie]

When I am older I want to run/own a pet shop where all the animals come from rescues either private recues or the rspca

 

[Schez]

The day I visited a rabbit breeder was one of the saddest in my life. All the bunnies separated (not neutered of course), in small cages like living ornaments.

I believe the latest statistics on unwanted bunnies given up to rescues is 67,000 per year .. Many of them will never find a loving home and they will die in rescue ..

such sad statistics...
And I'm sorry you witnessed such horrible conditions visiting that breeder. How awful.

 

[Sarah1989]

The day I visited a rabbit breeder was one of the saddest in my life. All the bunnies separated (not neutered of course), in small cages like living ornaments.

I believe the latest statistics on unwanted bunnies given up to rescues is 67,000 per year .. Many of them will never find a loving home and they will die in rescue ..

When I got Blackavar from a BYB (ex stud bunny of no further use as his partner had died, bless him ) there was a stack of hutches, maybe 3/4ft in length for the giant bunnies like frenchies & then the rest in a shed all stacked up. I felt so sad for them the owner was really nice and she did seem to care for her bunnies, so perhaps she was just unaware of the correct way to keep buns like I was before this forum & enjoying keeping them & breeding was a way to offset the costs?


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