There have been almost a thousand views to this thread, so it's obviously of concern to many.
I thought it worth updating with Frances Harcourt Brown's excellent reply which was published in the Vet Record last week. This is a shortened version, recorded on her Facebook site:
''I am writing in response to a letter that appeared in the Veterinary Record (February 25, 2017). In his letter, Dr Whitehead describes his policy of discouraging spaying of female rabbits, whether kept singly, with other females, or with neutered or entire males, unless there is a specific indication to do so. Dr Whitehead disputes that uterine tumours are common in rabbits and uses an analysis of his clinical records of 61 entire rabbits to support his view. Only three, or maybe four, of these rabbits were diagnosed with a possible uterine tumour, which led to Mr Whitehead’s conclusion that the risk of uterine tumours is only 3 or 4 in 61. He feels that this risk in not high enough to justify the risk of prophylactic ovariohysterectomy. I couldn’t disagree more.
Firstly, if it was my female rabbit, I wouldn’t accept a risk of 1 in 20 as low enough to discourage me from neutering her in order to prevent a malignant cancer later in life.
Secondly, Martin Whitehead cites a Viewpoint article by Bradbury and Dickens (Vet Rec Dec 24/31, 2016) that question the need for routine neutering of female rabbits by saying that it can be an extremely aversive experience to a rabbit. Although the authors acknowledge that some practices have developed the facilities and knowledge to provide good veterinary care they still describe neutering as a ‘ highly stressful experience’. I have just retired after 43 years in practice with an increasing rabbit caseload. It reached 100% in the last 8 years of my working life.
An ‘extremely aversive’ or a ‘highly stressful’ experience’ are not scenarios that I recognise for my rabbit patients. I, and many other vets, have worked hard to improve anaesthetic safety and surgery in rabbits. I think rabbits are no more stressed by neutering than dogs or cats. The animals may not be 100% happy to be at a vets but it is not an extremely aversive or highly stressful experience for them.
Thirdly, Dr Whitehead’s analysis of his clinical records does not stand up to scrutiny. A palpable abdominal mass was the only diagnostic criterion that was used. The reproductive tract was not examined during laparotomy or post-mortem examination, so the full extent of uterine abnormalities is unknown. Behavioural issues were not included in his clinical assessment of the rabbits in his analysis. He looked at the data from 61 rabbits, which is too small a number to draw any significant conclusions and is an indication of how few rabbits are treated in his practice. For several years, I was spaying 61 rabbits within three months.
Sadly, I didn’t keep detailed record the incidence of uterine tumours and other abnormalities but, anecdotally, they were common and the incidence increased with age. Recently, I canvassed opinion on this matter among vets and rescue centres that neuter several hundred rabbits per year and there was general agreement that uterine tumours and other abnormalities are common. There was also agreement that the risk of anaesthesia in rabbits is small and the risk of surgical complications is low if the procedure is done well. Many charities and welfare organisations have spent considerable time, effort and money educating owners that neutering female rabbits is a beneficial. I only hope that the views of Martin Whitehead, Guen Bradbury and Greg Dickens do not convince vets and owners otherwise''