Petting Farms- A Message From the RWAF

[InspectorMorse]

”With the summer holidays in full swing, farm parks are a popular choice for family outings. But behind the scenes, small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs often face poor welfare conditions such as:

• Housed alone, lacking essential companionship
• Kept in hutches without proper space or enrichment
• Fed inappropriate diets
• Unvaccinated and medically neglected
• Subjected to repeated handling through daily "pat-a-pet" experiences, despite the stress this causes

We’re asking families to take a closer look and consider the animals’ experience.
Watch this video on our socials — can you spot the signs of fear?
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CFEvJfNek/
We've shared it on YouTube as well
https://youtube.com/shorts/yBW1gUz9y88?feature=share

We’re asking for your help in two simple ways:

1. Please don’t take part in animal handling events.
   What’s fun for us can be frightening for them.
2. Take the pledge to protect rabbits from unnecessary harm.
   Choose compassion over entertainment and help us raise welfare standards in farm parks.
   Take the pledge here https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/dont-bug-bunnies/

We’re also calling on farm parks to rethink how they engage visitors. Instead of petting sessions, we’re encouraging more imaginative and welfare-friendly activities — like making enrichment for rabbits or offering educational talks.
Today, we’ve written to farm parks across the UK to share our campaign and invite them to sign the pledge too.
Together, we can make a real difference for rabbits.
Thank you for standing with us — and with them.”