Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund - Think you want a rabbit?

Posted on 25 February, 2022

Photo by Gavin Allanwood on Unsplash

Think carefully!

Despite being the third most popular pet in the UK, rabbits are among the most abused and neglected. Countless rabbits spend miserable lives confined to a hutch, alone and with little or no space to exercise, mostly because owners don’t realise what’s involved before taking them on. Before you take on rabbits as pets, please read these advice pages to get an idea of everything involved in their care. If you can’t commit to giving them what they need to live full and contented lives then rabbits are not for you.

Are rabbits right for you?

It’s an important question because there are a lot of myths about what rabbits are like as pets, so it’s important to know what’s involved. But it’s just as important to think about the following question…

Are you right for rabbits?

Countless rabbits suffer neglect at the hands of owners who don’t understand, or aren’t ready to commit to their rabbits’ needs.

We cover both these questions on this page – take just a little time to read it. Rescue shelters are bursting at the seams with rabbits abandoned by owners who didn’t take the trouble to find out what was involved – an estimated 67,000 rabbits a year go through rescue.

Rabbits are NOT…

Rabbits are…

Beautiful, curious animals that deserve to live full and enriched lives. The list above highlights just some of the misconceptions about rabbit care. The bottom line is that looking after rabbits is a big commitment. You must…

And all this for up to 12 years.

It doesn’t make you a bad person if you don’t think that’s for you. In fact, if there were more people who really thought about what was involved and decided that it wasn’t for them, then rescue shelters wouldn’t be at crisis point and there wouldn’t be so many rabbits neglected and suffering at the end of the garden, all but forgotten.

Bunny buddies

It’s a myth that rabbits should be kept with guinea pigs. They have different dietary requirements and the guinea pig can easily be injured by the larger rabbit. A huge benefit of keeping rabbits together is their mutual grooming – this does not happen with a guinea pig.

Spectator sport

The real pleasure of having rabbits is seeing them act like rabbits! Watching them displaying their natural behaviours of running, jumping, digging and foraging, or simply grooming their partner is a joy to behold. And if you get to see a flop or a binky then you know you’re doing something right!

Do the maths

Rabbits can live for ten to twelve years so add ten years to your child’s age if they say they want a rabbit and promise to look after it every day. Under the law you are responsible for the animal anyway but do you really think your child will still be interested in five years time? How about ten? Maybe, but maybe not!

To read the original post, please visit https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/ownership/think-you-want-a-rabbit/

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