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Set up a small rescue

honeybunny said:
Very basic advice to start thinking about

Yes you need financial back up..one rabbit can end up with a £800 vet bill out of the blue on top of others needing neuters and vacs ect. Out of hours vets are hugely expensive. We had a bun rushed to one the other night £210 bill for small re stitch but couldn't be left til morning. We put a lot of our own money into it.

Set yourself a sensible starting number and stick to it. Say 4 rabbits max. If you take all those you are offered you will end up in trouble.

You need people who can cover if you are ill. Again this can happen very suddenly so people you can rely on.

You also need to find a good rabbit vet near you who you can get to easily and will hopefully work with you re giving a discount. BUt be prepared some vets will not discount at all or not until you have been running a while and are able to put a good amount of work their way.

Forget days off..no really forget them. Christmas Day you will be feeding, cleaning litter trays and maybe giving meds to animals..and again boxing Day and New Years Eve..the novelty of it soon wears thin

BUT if you can do all this and more then helping those little creatures who need it is great. Just remember most of the work is dealing with people, so people skills a must ( although I'm known for being quite blunt! lol )
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I understand the bills can be hugh. Even if I have savings, this will be used up very quickly. Also, even the funding are come donations, but I can't rely on this since it's unstable... Sigh... Think I still need to have at least a part time job to maintain the rescue.

I have been using the same vet in the past 7 years, she is really good but it takes at least 20 mins to drive there - more than that if the road is busy... There is another one very close to where I live, but as you say, I need to build up the relationship in order to get some discount which I know they do that.

Completely forgot about the holiday. I do need to go back to my home town since my family/ relatives are there.... So I do need a cover who I can trust with to manage the rescue, but I still prefer to do it myself - which I think I can only start this rescue after 10 years...

Need to think about a good cover if I am ill. I dont know many people who know about rabbits unfortunately, think I need to join some community in order to meet more people who love rabbit as well...

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It isn't easy, especially if you are on your own. We have a few successful Rescues on here but they are mainly run by Husband and Wife teams, plus volunteers. I have taken on unwanted rabbits for the last 20 years and have not had a day off, have spent thousands etc but it has been very fulfilling. I normally take on a rabbit for life as many already have had 2/3 homes.
 
Don't forget that you need some form of income to support yourself as well, otherwise there is no viable rescue, either, and any rabbits in your care will be even more vulnerable. Even if you own a property, there are all the usual bills to pay plus the extras of the rescue. Vet bills seem to be the biggest ongoing expense for any rescues I have known (not just for rabbit rescues).
 
Windwhistle Warren in Gloucestershire is a well established and highly rated rabbit rescue and has at any one time over 100 rabbits in its care. Alice Chamberlain runs the rescue and dedicates her life to helping rabbits, perhaps if you were to contact she could enlighten you to the good and sad points of running a rescue.
 
I've been a volunteer at Windwhistle for the past 12 years. I work full time, have 12 rabbits of my own plus other pets but I still spend every Saturday at the rescue. I also help out with a very small number of emails and home checks during the week.

I would suggest volunteering at a rescue to see what actually happens, it is so much more than the daily care and vet visits. There are some very tough decisions to make, often daily and there can be some very unpleasant people to deal with too. The rabbits are the easy bit, it is very hard work.

I give up what time I can but on a Saturday evening I'm able to walk out of the rescue, Alice (the owner) can never leave, in fact going to the RWAF conference is her 'holiday' and she can only do that because she has a very supportive husband and a small team of dedicated volunteers.

From my experience I know I don't want to start up a rabbit rescue, even though I love rabbits. If you are truly determined then you will get there but please do your research before taking on any animals, too many 'rescues' fail and the animals end up suffering.
 
tabithakat64 said:
Rescue is a 24/7 365 job, I'm really not joking when I say that as even the odd bit of planned time off won't ever really be time off, you can be on holiday, out for your birthday, getting married or in hospital, it won't matter, the furry little lives you care for will need to be your only priority so you have to be prepared to sacrifice everything else when needed.

You need the support of your family and friends, not just physically but emotionally and probably also financially too.

It will be 1000 times harder emotionally and more exhausting physically than you ever imagined.

Have lots of savings, keep fundraising even if you think you're financially stable, it only takes 1 sick rabbit for you to find yourself several thousand pounds short. The financial pressure of running a rescue is huge.

You need to be super organised but super flexible too.

Learn as much as you can and keep learning, places like RWAF, a good exotics vet and those who run other rescues are a good place to start, CPD and online learning are also hugely useful. In order to give the rabbits in your rescue the best possible care this is vital.

Do it because you love rabbits and because you want to help 'them', no other reason will cut it long term.

Be prepared to say no to people all the time, be prepared for them to be abusive too as that will happen. The ongoing needs of the rabbits in your future rescue will need to come before those who need your help.

I've met some truly amazing people over the last few years, celebrated every time a bunny comes to trust me, every time one recovers from illness and every time one gets a forever home. I've cried literally millions of tears to and my heart has broken a thousand times, each time we loose a rabbit through illness, I've cried at the neglect new intakes have suffered, I've cried because of financial pressure and a million and 1 other reasons but I love running the rescue so for me the positives outweigh the negatives.

Good luck!
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Thank you. I understand it's not easy or I should say it is much more difficult than I expected, financially and emotionally!!! I love rabbits but I know it is two different things for looking after my own and running a rescue.

I admire all of you who run the rescue. You all sacrifice a lot for the rabbits!

Your words below make me cry[emoji24]....

[[[[I've cried literally millions of tears to and my heart has broken a thousand times, each time we loose a rabbit through illness, I've cried at the neglect new intakes have suffered, I've cried because of financial pressure ]]]]

My permenant job is very busy all the time and I look after two rabbits which I am trying to bond them everyday, also the housework.. etc. Seems already no real break. Not even have time to thank you all of your messages quick enough[emoji21]. My husband is also extremely busy, can't rely on him to take care any of my rabbit.

I really need to think carefully on this set up. Don't want the rescue fails one day and causes rabbits suffering.

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bunnylover177 said:
"The ongoing needs of the rabbits in your future rescue will need to come before those who need your help".

This is such an interesting point. I've volunteered at various rescues over the years and the best ones have this thought central in their thinking.
You need to be so mentally tough because you can not help them all as well as ultra organised, inspirational so others want to help you and you really really need to be clear about where the money is coming from.
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Thank you. You are right on mentally tough, which I am pretty bad on[emoji30]

I worry so much easily when my own rabbit is not well, I cry when they lost the nail, I worry when they lost only little weight, I worry when they are not in good mood....

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tonibun said:
It isn't easy, especially if you are on your own. We have a few successful Rescues on here but they are mainly run by Husband and Wife teams, plus volunteers. I have taken on unwanted rabbits for the last 20 years and have not had a day off, have spent thousands etc but it has been very fulfilling. I normally take on a rabbit for life as many already have had 2/3 homes.
Click to expand...
wow... 20 years with no break!

Hmm.. Where can I find the volunteer? By advertisng my rescue once it is set up?

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