Anyone Got the Latest Issue of Rabbiting On ?

KCG said:

If mixed breeds are prone to diseases, why is production continued? For example, some cat and dog breeds were banned for these reasons. The same rule may apply to rabbits.

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There aren't that many restrictions on breeding sadly. I don't know too much about other dog breeds but people breeding French bulldogs are being encouraged to health test the parents to ensure they're fit to breed from. And some of those criteria are supposed to be looked at in the show ring too but I'm not sure if that's happening in reality. None of it is compulsory though and the huge majority of pups born are to parents who haven't been health tested.

And, at the other extreme, there are people trying to breed hairless frenchies and all sorts, just because they can and because of the price tag that pups will have.

keletkezes said:

Not just online but yeah, totally :shock: because, SURELY you'd do some research?! But then staying with my parents makes me realise how much humans just wing through life generally [emoji38] Even Matt's decided, after researching the tiniest amount, that he can't manage a cat/pair unless I'm 100% up for it too

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Oh definitely not just online. I don't really meet numpties irl though [emoji1787][emoji1787] because the only place I see much of other dog owners is at dog training and they tend to be the minority who've actually done some homework.

I used to think cats were pretty easy to care for but Freddie and Oliver enjoy testing my cat parenting skills on a daily basis. [emoji1787]

KarenM said:

There aren't that many restrictions on breeding sadly. I don't know too much about other dog breeds but people breeding French bulldogs are being encouraged to health test the parents to ensure they're fit to breed from. And some of those criteria are supposed to be looked at in the show ring too but I'm not sure if that's happening in reality. None of it is compulsory though and the huge majority of pups born are to parents who haven't been health tested.

And, at the other extreme, there are people trying to breed hairless frenchies and all sorts, just because they can and because of the price tag that pups will have.

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Hairless Frenchies :shock:

To me a rabbit is a rabbit it's not there fault what breed they are. I will sponsor a lop in rescue now
I hate to imagine the effects it could have on the buns lop eared in rescues or even more people giving them up as a result

InspectorMorse said:

Hairless Frenchies :shock:

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Had a french lop once rescued my first bunny. Can't ever imagine her being hairless

mini lop1 said:

Had a french lop once rescued my first bunny. Can't ever imagine her being hairless [emoji22]

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Sorry, should have said hairless French bulldogs. Not that the idea of producing a hairless dog is any better than a hairless French lop bunny.

Jane, I won't inflict any of the photos on you all here but I'm sure you can imagine. Just sad to think of what humans are willing to do for money!

KarenM said:

Sorry, should have said hairless French bulldogs. Not that the idea of producing a hairless dog is any better than a hairless French lop bunny.

Jane, I won't inflict any of the photos on you all here but I'm sure you can imagine. Just sad to think of what humans are willing to do for money!

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I feel sorry for Skinny Pigs too

I think the message the RWAF want to put across is valid, I just don’t agree with how they have gone about it. Not that what I think matters ! :lol:

I think they need to expand and refine their message, bearing in mind the sponsorship of the RWAF and Rabbiting On and thus the people who will receive the message. If it's education, then I would argue that resources could be better spent trying to reach a different audience, perhaps breeders or people who are considering getting a rabbit. The majority of Rabbiting On readers will be aware of these issues already.

I think that sadly it might have the (hopefully) undesired effect of encouraging people considering adopting to not adopt the breeds in question.

Omi said:

I think they need to expand and refine their message, bearing in mind the sponsorship of the RWAF and Rabbiting On and thus the people who will receive the message. If it's education, then I would argue that resources could be better spent trying to reach a different audience, perhaps breeders or people who are considering getting a rabbit. The majority of Rabbiting On readers will be aware of these issues already.

I think that sadly it might have the (hopefully) undesired effect of encouraging people considering adopting to not adopt the breeds in question.

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Breeders are alienated by the RWAF and Breeders are the one’s who need to hear the message.

InspectorMorse said:

Breeders are alienated by the RWAF and Breeders are the one’s who need to hear the message.

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Most breeders will be motivated by profit, which will be more likely if they supply the breeds, which people want to buy. It would be a hard sell to most breeders. So the message needs to be directed to people, who unaware of the health issues, are attracted by the appearance and possibly character of these breeds.

Omi said:

Most breeders will be motivated by profit, which will be more likely if they supply the breeds, which people want to buy. It would be a hard sell to most breeders. So the message needs to be directed to people, who unaware of the health issues, are attracted by the appearance and possibly character of these breeds.

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True, but I still think it is a shame that Breeders have been alienated. They are not all demons and they might actually cross over to the other side once they truly understood the Rescue situation. But I realise my opinion about there being some ‘good’ Breeders is not going to be one shared by many on here.

InspectorMorse said:

True, but I still think it is a shame that Breeders have been alienated. They are not all demons and they might actually cross over to the other side once they truly understood the Rescue situation. But I realise my opinion about there being some ‘good’ Breeders is not going to be one shared by many on here.

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I actually share your view that there are some good breeders out there, people who really care about the animals and do their best to ensure they are healthy. They are in the main though breeding rabbits as a business and so will breed those rabbits which they know they can easily sell.

Omi said:

I actually share your view that there are some good breeders out there, people who really care about the animals and do their best to ensure they are healthy. They are in the main though breeding rabbits as a business and so will breed those rabbits which they know they can easily sell.

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:thumb:

I know of a breeder locally who breeds mini lops, Belgium hares and a great variety of others. They really struggle to sell the rabbit-looking rabbits so churn out loads of mini lops as a result. So very definitely supply and demand for them. They would like to breed and show more of the rarer breeds.

I also read on a breeders page on FB of a breeder considering not breeding continental giants this year as they have struggled to sell a litter mini rexes. I imagine even lop breeders are not finding it so easy this year as previously. .. but if nobody wants to buy the rabbity-rabbits then that's not what they will breed. Okay, I have just read the latest instalment from this breeder and *I despair* They are still trying to to shift the rexes but went ahead and breed the giants anyway:?

bunniemum said:

I agree, very sad, lots of people take on rescue lops (have had two previously myself). So does this class them as second rate rabbits, and not worthy of the same love, or that owner's are not able to show their love for their rabbits. Will this put people off rescuing them in the future?.. and then what, more being abandoned/dumped?

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Lop lives matter

A petplan review on Illness most seen and claimed for in certain breeds. Well the dutch is like the Holland lop (mini lop) as they have it listed.

https://www.petplan.co.uk/pet-information/rabbit/breed/dutch/

Omi said:

Most breeders will be motivated by profit, which will be more likely if they supply the breeds, which people want to buy. It would be a hard sell to most breeders. So the message needs to be directed to people, who unaware of the health issues, are attracted by the appearance and possibly character of these breeds.

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I agree; breeders need to make the changes but that will probably be best achieved by changing the buyers opinions. While there's huge demand for lops, breeders are always going to be supplying them. I read somewhere that about a third of rabbit sales are lops, so that's a huge market.

Going back to this being the wrong audience, they may well be planning other ideas to raise awareness - getting pet shops on board would probably be a start - but they need to lead by example too I guess. They can't be urging pet shops to stop selling lops, asking them to put up posters about the potential health problems or whatever while they're still plastering lops all over their own publications.

It's going to be hard to raise awareness, and change the demand for buying lops, without a knock-on effect on adoption of those breeds. But, arguably, if people are adopting lops without knowing that they're more likely to develop these issues, that could lead to some of those bunnies suffering because owners aren't aware or can't afford treatment.

Dental issues, especially, are so common in rabbits in general that the potential cost is something everyone should be considering anyway. And I'm sure lots of us have mentioned that ourselves to anyone coming to this forum looking to buy or adopt a rabbit as something to bear in mind before committing.

Going off at a tangent the cost of having any Pet will soon be something only the wealthy can afford. Vet fees have gone through the roof and so have Insurance premiums.

Once insurance companies get wind of the Lop issues then I expect there will be exclusions on Lop Insurance policies and premiums will go up even higher.

InspectorMorse said:

Going off at a tangent the cost of having any Pet will soon be something only the wealthy can afford. Vet fees have gone through the roof and so have Insurance premiums.

Once insurance companies get wind of the Lop issues then I expect there will be exclusions on Lop Insurance policies and premiums will go up even higher.

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Don't even get me started on that issue. [emoji85][emoji1787]

KarenM said:

I used to think cats were pretty easy to care for but Freddie and Oliver enjoy testing my cat parenting skills on a daily basis. [emoji1787]

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LMAO Yep! Matt doesn't mind looking after or having cat houseguests but our Floof houseguest (12yo small Maine Coon) gave him enough stress and he didn't even do the not-fun bits :lol: I think it was because she didn't like him as much as she liked me and he was actually just jealous :lol:

InspectorMorse said:

Going off at a tangent the cost of having any Pet will soon be something only the wealthy can afford. Vet fees have gone through the roof and so have Insurance premiums.

Once insurance companies get wind of the Lop issues then I expect there will be exclusions on Lop Insurance policies and premiums will go up even higher.

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Oooooooh yeah. We've all been talking about this! So, if we got a cat, we'd get it insured (for a start the vaccs are much more expensive so some kind of vaccs scheme would be useful), but we don't insure the rabbits because we're lucky enough to have savings etc. for them. But people who don't? It's not like poor people are any less capable of being good (or bad!) owners :roll: