Rescues Viewpoint

[Jettychops]

First just like to say all our three bunnies are from rescue, but after our Jetty died and his partner 6 months before him, we were left with our single house bunny Snowy and we wanted another single bunny for Company but not to bond with Snowy. In otherwords they could see one another in the kitchen and play out separately but not bond. At the time we did not want another bonded pair because we saw the pain Jetty went through when Sooty died and it broke our hearts that we couldn't do anything to help him.

We went through rabbit rehome looking at single bunnies who were long termers at rescue and its surprising and despondent about responses we got with our initial email enquiries to some rescues, saying as we already had a single bunny they didn't feel we were right to have another single bunny.


Am not naming rescues because they had their reasons, but it felt like we were banging our heads against the wall, all we wanted to do was help another bunny to have a nice life. These rescues that turned us down could have come out done any number of home checks but turned us down flat.:?

We persevered in our quest to get adopted again, and now we have 2 more single bunnies along with Snowy both overlooked in rescue unchosen, one from rescue we had previously adopted who had no hesitation about letting us adopted him as a single bunny with two other single bunnies who rule the roost.

I can see some people being less persistant than us if they met with negative responses we got and not choosing rescue because of the preference to say " would like to have a girl or boy bunny for company" when not every bunny wants to be paired. I would have thought some of these rescues would have jumped at the chance to free up space but it just wasn't the case.

It would be interesting to see what other rescuers policies are on rehoming single bunnies to existing homes were there are already single bunnies.

 

[Mischief and Tinker's Mum]

I agree with rescuing, it would be my first choice but I also think it depends on the situation of the rabbit. For example if there's a neglected bun in a pet shop that would die if not got a good home and a happy healthy bun in a rescue, then the neglected one should get the home but I do agree it must be frustrating for you. However, members should not be "told off" for not getting a rabbit from a rescue, maybe they don't fully understand the the work the rescue does? So if a rescue worker can be quite nasty then it might make them not want to rescue in the future.

 

[chloemurray]

So we should all only speak if we have nice things to say?!

I only meant that people need to think more about the way they're going to comment. If you know it's going to offend/upset someone or make you look bad, find another way to say it.

 

[rabswood]

There have been 18000 members through this forum, currently 1500 (ish) active.
If every one of these who wanted a new bunny went to a rescue, rather than buying from a pet shop, that's a lot less demand for pet shop/ breeder bunnies, and much better news for rescues.
I am one person - I've rescued 5 bunnies in the past 6 years, and have one foster bunny. I've made a difference.
That's just me, what about the others?

I have 10 rescue bunnies, 2 rescue cats, 2 rescue piggies

In the past I have had an additional 2 rescue cats and 1 rescue hamster. I believe I have made a small difference.

I think we need to keep pushing the pro rescue message. The same way that the RSPCA, CIWF etc, etc have to use graphic images in their publicity. It's all to easy for people to close their eyes. we have to keep reminding them. At the end of the day it is down to the individuals choice and conscience.

 

[Rosie Rabbit]

My first bunnies, like many here, weren't rescues. Having learned so much about the plight of rescue bunnies - and the sheer numbers of them - since joining this forum, I am passionate about the rescue message, and I don't really think there's any reason for anyone NOT to rehome a rescue rabbit. :?

Of course people are free to get their rabbits from wherever they wish, but I just don't understand it when people know that there are tens of thousands of rabbits in rescues needing homes, and they still choose to buy them.

No matter where a rabbit has come from, they all deserve and equal chance of a loving home !
I rabbit had never asked to be born in a pet shop or a backyard.
I fully support rescue and its fantastic what they do for the bunnies , but every rabbit deseerves home

Yes, all rabbits deserve a loving home, but the point is that if people keep buying rabbits from pet shops and breeders, that creates a demand, and the shops and breeders go on breeding and replacing those rabbits. Meanwhile, over 30,000 rabbits sit in rescue through no fault of their own, desperate for a home.

I cannot imagine how frustrating it is to be a rescuer, constantly putting your own resources - physical, emotional, financial - into rescuing animals. It would depress and frustrate me beyond imagining.

 

[Alicia]

I agree that all rabbits deserve a home, and I don't have a problem with people that don't get rabbits from rescues. I just think that giving money to a rescue, where we know the money will go back into caring for the rabbits, is much better than giving it to a pet shop. Giving money to a pet shop is helping pay for the way pet shops do things, so its paying for more rabbits to be bred (often a lot of pet shop bunnies have genetic problems too) and I just think there are much better places to get a rabbit from. I don't mean this to offend anyone, I have bought lots of pets from a pet shop before, I just think it's better to give money to a rescue than to a pet shop.
Although I think rescues are best, I like breeders and think if they are bred properly and well cared for I'd buy a pet from them.

 

[Lspacehopper]

But it's a forum Chloe and the whole point of a discussion forum is we can give our honest opinion provided we don't insult or aggrevate deliberately.

I'm fed up with this country pussy footing around so as not to 'upset anyone' There is a way of putting things, granted, but to be expected to keep your opinions to yourself when they are invited by dint of being posted on an open public forum is daft.

I agree completely with this Helen.

 

[Santa]

First just like to say all our three bunnies are from rescue, but after our Jetty died and his partner 6 months before him, we were left with our single house bunny Snowy and we wanted another single bunny for Company but not to bond with Snowy. In otherwords they could see one another in the kitchen and play out separately but not bond. At the time we did not want another bonded pair because we saw the pain Jetty went through when Sooty died and it broke our hearts that we couldn't do anything to help him.

To be honest though, I totally see where rescues are coming from on that. The logic seems to be that it's better to have a bun with a lifetime of singleness - even though research has shown that bunnies are happier when bonded - than to have a short period of grief, which will pass in time and which will mostly be resolved fairly quickly by re-bonding with another bun. Even with two separate buns, if the purpose of having two is that they can see each other, then surely they're going to still grieve when the other bun has gone and they are alone again, so what's the difference? Why not just bond them so they can be happy for the majority of their lives. I just don't get it, sorry.

Rescues are responsible for the animals in their care and for their best interests. For most bunnies, most rescues will say that their best interests are to live with a partner. If someone rang up and said that they wanted a rabbit to kill for dinner, a rescue would say no, even if they knew that person would go and get one from somewhere else anyway...because they don't feel it's in the best interests of the rabbit, wouldn't they? And rightly so - they have to do what is in the best interests for the bunnies in their care, and even if it means a longer period alone at rescue before a lifetime of bonded happiness, then it's a balance worth making IMO. I'm afraid I completely agree with the rescues on that one!

 

[SamanthaJane]

I got my girls from a breeder. I didn't know there were rabbit rescues at the time and to be honest, even when I look now, there are VERY few in my area, if any, so not suprised I didn't find them whilst hunting for the girls.

I don't regret getting the girls, but if I was to get another bun, it would be from a rescue and I would have to, and would now be willing to, travel to get to one.

I found this forum the first night the girls were home.

If I had been jumped on, like I see some people get, for having rabbits from a breeder, I probably wouldn't have come back.

I'm glad I did though, because you've all helped me so much with so many things, and have now turned me pro-rescue (not that I was anti rescue before, I didn't know rabbits had rescues!)

Do rescues advertise rabbits a lot? Just thinking, when I was looking for a pair of rabbits online before I got the girls, I didn't come accross any rescues.

 

[Jaysmonkey]

I am pro rescue. But to me I'm also vegan and against animal testing. Thats my choice. I won't judge anyone for their opinion on the matter as i am equal to them aned my opinion doesn't matter anymore than theirs.

I'll always rescues buns and try and promote it where possible. Ie twitter but i won't think qny less of someone for their choices .

 

[William]

Do rescues advertise rabbits a lot? Just thinking, when I was looking for a pair of rabbits online before I got the girls, I didn't come accross any rescues.

I've wondered why they don't advertise on free ads. You do homechecks anyways, it's not like you have to worry that an impulse buyer or something will adopt one of your rabbits.

 

[Rabbbit]

I would feel annoyed if someone knew about rescues (the good stuff that they do and how adopting from them is better than buying from pet shops). But still chose to buy instead of adopt.

Even though I'd feel annoyed, I wouldn't be able to do something.

Its up to them, whether they make the right/wrong choice.

 

[Babsie]

But preaching about it doesn't help rescues. It's like preaching to someone about eating meat or having a certain religion. No one on here likes that. So why is preaching about rescues okay? People will make their own decisions no matter how much they're told they should rescue so don't try to force them into rescuing, it'll just make them resent rescues.

I'm not talking about anyone in this thread, I just mean in general, the preaching does get a bit annoying. Yeah, it's a pro rescue forum, but most animal forums are and they don't all preach. Everyone here already knows they should rescue.

Apparently not.

 

[helgalush]

My point is people don't like to be preached to about what they should do, whether it is rescuing rabbits or eating meat. So I don't see why its okay for people to respond to threads like picture threads saying that they shouldn't have bought a rabbit when the rescue situation is so dire, when you could argue that the meat industry is much more awful and killing many more animals. You can preach about rescuing but not other things :?

I think there is a difference between expressing an opinion (however strong it may be) and preaching. If everything is reduced to preaching, then those of us that have strong opinions for a good reason, can never talk about them, as we will always just be called preachy. Its ok to challenge the status quo if it means raising awareness of causes.

Nobody on this thread (at least up until the point of this, as thats only as far into it as I have read so far) wants to tell anyone what to do - in fact the original poster said it was not aimed at anyone in particular, but rather that she wanted people to understand how hard it is to run a rescue, and then come on to a pro-rescue forum and feel that you are fighting a losing battle even on here where people are well aware of the situation. I think she has a right to express the frustrations and do something about trying to raise awareness of the very difficult situations that rescues, and the people who run them, are in. Particularly when faced with a never-ending cycle of people breeding/buying animals, more animals in rescue, and fewer people adopting from rescues.

Who else can they get their message across to, if not the 'rabbity folk' and people in their local community??? :?

My own stance on it is that I would not buy a rabbit from a pet shop or breeder unless there were extenuating circumstances, such as the rabbit being very ill or having special needs or was being neglected. Sadly though you would also have to reconcile the fact in that case that you could be freeing space or giving money to fund the same thing happening again and again.

I won't even buy from Pets at Home (unless I need something in an emergency, like once when we ran out of hay :roll because I don't want to fund them. Its just a principle I have but I don't expect everyone else to do the same. I am well aware that people can make their own decisions but if this kind of thing was never discussed on RU after I joined I would never even have thought about it.

 

[William]

[/B]

Apparently not.

Unless they're a newbie they do. You couldn't miss all the rescue threads.

 

[HS]

I think the main reason that rescues don't advertise widely (ie on freeads) is because rather than rehoming bunnies, they would be inundated to take bunnies in.
To answer a previously asked question!

 

[antigone]

In my opinion, the current problem with rescues being overloaded with animals, under-funded and having a shortage of potential adopters is nothing to do with rescues getting the message across (whether in the 'right' or 'wrong' way)...

There has never been more advice/information available to people about how to look after their pets or the best place to obtain pets...

I think our society has just become apathetic and selfish. Most people don't care what affect their actions have on anyone or anything, and only care about themselves and getting what they want....

For me, that is the main reason people are apathetic about the suffering of animals.

This is so true!

 

[Tamsin]

From my point of view, as we are sharing them...

Being a member of the forum doesn't automatically make someone pro-rescue. Membership does not come with that obligation. Many rabbit owners sign up just to get advice on their bunny not to take a stance or get involved in rescue. So someone announcing they have brought a rabbit from a non rescue source, is not necessarily being hypocritical at all.

It would be nice if everyone was pro-rescue or took an active part in helping rescues, but I'd rather have lots of people that are 'pro-looking after their bunny' than make membership exclusive to those that are also pro-rescue.

I don't think comments on an individuals topic are helpful, they are just venting, which is understandable - but that doesn't make it helpful. If people haven't got the rescue message before that point, I don't see how berating them after they brought a rabbit is going to make a difference to that. You want them to take it back and go to rescue instead? What it might make a difference in is whether they stay around for the 'pro-looking after their bunny' portion of the events.

Bringing freedom of speech/right to an opinion into it is just as pointless. No ones ever had to right to say whatever they like on the forum (or in RL) no matter how much it might hurt others. I doubt the right to an opinion would be so popular if it was someone posting 'you can get a bun just like that in your local pet shop only much cheaper and with all four legs - you should buy that instead' on a rabbit in need thread

 

[halfpenny]

I do not run a rescue but a sanctuary, however we initially fostered and some of the foster rabbits are still here as nobody wanted them! I'm sorry but anybody who has been on here for more than a month must know the aguements for rescuing.
As said as long as people buy from breeders and pet shops there will be people breeding for money.
I guess it comes down to what you believe and what you support. For the one rabbit some knowledgeable person on here buys from a pet shop / byb, how many go to sit in a 3 ft hutch, un treated in anyway until found dead a couple of years down the line. Don't fool yourselves those things happen, I work a vet and the first time we often see a rabbit is when it is dying, and I live in an affluent area!
So why is it an issue that a rescue has standards, they have specific requirement, are willing to listen and surely if you want a rabbit you want the best for it and are willing to compromise with a rescue to save one.
Yes they do get annoyed that an un needed rabbit has been bred because someone has bought it
rather than give one a second chance.
Maybe the fact that rescues put every penny they can afford and every spare minute in the day into saving an animal is ignored because someone wants a baby, upsets them.
Maybe it's because when these people have to give up an animal, for various reasons, then expect rescue to advise and take them in, because they want to make sure they find a good home.
Finally, some rescue are diplomatic on here as they know it's won't help to be negative, if they then go on Facebook ( apparently among friends) to express their frustration it's wrong that it is reported back here. I know of quite a few situations where it has been dictated as to what people do on Facebook, with referrance to here. It has nothing to do with here, it is a completely separate area and reporting back here when someone has to vent is not fair!!!!

 

[honeybunny]

the sad thing is, by the responses on here and the " every rabbit deserves a home " comments reguarding pets shops and breeder, it is obvious there are many members on here who really don't " Get it "
how on earth do we improve the plight of the thousands of rescue animals..when members of an animal forum with a huge rescue presence..buy stock and think it's ok ?
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