@TheBee: The nightmare place Melania wed Trump to escape from. Honestly, I completely understand her. It's either work or marriage to move away from here, and marriage is easier. I'm not into marriage, but I know many, many people from here who married Americans just to get away from here (and usually divorced soon after). The healthcare for people as well as animals here-----either you have connections and money, or you're on your own. So much for human/animal rights.
@binkyCodie:
I would personally argue a rabbit is far happier without their reproductive organs, they're no longer a slave to their hormones and have that evolutional need to have children, to ensure their species survive. I know I wouldn't want to go through my life wanting, being frustrated, but never able to have kids, and being so extremely grumpy due to hormonal. I can only imagine it being like on your period hormones for all of your life.
I agree! The fact is, rabbits are the fourth most popular pet in the UK now (just of curiosity...dogs probably 1, cats 2.....what's 3? Ferrets? Parrots? Tigers?
), which means they are meant by many now to enjoy long, happy lives. I know from myself and other people about how depression can deteriorate to a level where one loses one's will to live, but I have never, ever seen a rabbit, even when very ill, not fighting for their life. I admire that joy for living, although I do believe I treat Livvy well enough to deserve to see a binky every now and then...but she is the rare never-binkies bunny (some say they do it when you're not looking, but I'm almost always here, and no luck). But yes, without threats (Though you can't imagine how many horror stories I hear here from people who say they used to have rabbits and ''didn't think the neighbour's dog would hurt them if they ran around in the garden....but then...''), being taken good care of, they can lead ''artifically'' long lives (I really wonder if any rabbit in the wild has ever survived past 3), and ought to be spayed and neutered for all the above-mentioned reasons. Livvy is very, very maternal, so when I still had a boy bun around (had to separate him from the other boys; he had no aggression in him at all. Just stood in the corner....well, like a frightened rabbit), I did allow her to have a litter. She was a perfect mother. I now regret not keeping any of her little ones, but at the time I was lucky enough to find employment for awhile, and I could not take care of all of them, so I found them (I hope) happy homes. I now wish I had kept at least one of her daughters with her (though they were rowdy and wild, and her sons were sweet and cuddly, even when very small); that's why I'm thinking of getting her a companion. I don't think she's a loner rabbit at all, and I don't think I'm enough, as much as she truly likes me. I agree about the spaying 100%, but yes, the vet said if young, there is a 30% mortality rate; if older, she said the risk is very high and ''it's on you to decide''. If this was a vet who had operated successfully on older rabbits before, I would not hesitate, but here, they often assign vet students to perform these surgeries, and these students have killed our rabbits and our dogs before, so I can't risk that. If I get her a young companion, though, I will spay that one. Again, the 30% statistics are only for this country (so the vet said). I have no doubt in the UK and USA, the situation is better, simply because having rabbits as pets is not as uncommon as it apparently is here. Love your signature, btw. And tell Luna Livvy and I say hi
@Graciee: Exactly. I don't trust a vet who doesn't reassure me they will do all they can to minimise risks, and I didn't like this response. I can't afford them sending the lump samples to the lab; the prices here easily amount to over a 1000 pounds just for a check up and sending samples to the vet, not to mention they handle them very, very roughly. I cried in their office more than once because they treated them like furniture, not living, feeling creatures. They just hold them by the ears. I say ''no, you can't do that'', and they shrug ''no, it's ok''. The only thing I can do is to decide never to return to such a vet, but that leaves me with no other options. I have had one positive experience with a vet, but not for neutering/spaying. One of our dear boys had fallen, and broken his hind leg and all his teeth. He held him by the ears; I hated that, but did chip off his broken teeth. He was also honest with me. He actually told me: ''You can pay for an operation for us to fix his broken bones, but you'll just waste your money, because we probably can't do that successfully.'' I just let him heal on his own, and thankfully, he did. We also had to mix fruit and veggies and only feed him ''baby food'' for months. Can you imagine this is a positive experience for me? 99% of the other horror vet experiences I won't tell you, because I don't want to go through the trauma again.You even have pet insurance in the UK, no? Nobody's ever heard of anything like that here. I would do that immediately to pay for vet expenses if I could.
Where are you all from? Can you find good vets only in larger urban areas or even in the smaller places in the UK? Vets I speak of -are- from the capital. The ones from rural areas only tend to cattle. Personally, I am gobsmacked that technology is advancing at such a rapid rate, while education and awareness of animals not cats or dogs are still so low. I wish there was a rabbit celebrity spokesperson out there whom the masses would listen to. Wouldn't that be wonderful? People listen to people with influence, so that would be wonderful, in my opinion. I know there are famous people advocating for cats and dogs, but I've never heard of one advocating for rabbit welfare. Not to mention politicians, where--at least here--their concern for environmental and animal welfare is zero.
PS: Glamorous-looking bun gents/ladies you have on display there
