Shelter wanted us to bring in our rabbit.....

Something I came across a few months ago while we were in search for a new bun bun still confuses me and I wonder what everyone thinks of this.

We went to a local shelter, completed multiple pages of documents before we were allowed to spend time with one of their rabbits. On one of the pages, a staff member highlighted the fact that I currently had a neutered, four year old buck and requested that I brought him in to "make sure they got along". Aside from the fact I lived over an hour away.... I questioned this first and foremost... because do not most rabbits fight when they first meet? This was certainly the case with all bunnys I've bonded and I've kept buns all my life. Not to mention I'd rather not subject my rabbit to goodness knows what at an animal shelter. This halted the process and we left. Another shelter several hours away required home visits which is very difficult with our schedule. I'm a former Veterinary Technician and have outstanding references including our Vet but that didn't seem to matter much.

We ended up rescuing a flemish giant baby from some people who were raising them for meat and she's fantastic.

a lot of shelters offer “bunny speed-dating” so your rabbit can meet a few rabbits to see whether they can be potential friends. Just because a person likes a certain rabbit does not mean it will necessarily be a good fit for their bunny. Many bunnies do fight when they meet, you’re right, and you run the risk of buying a rabbit that will not get on with your rabbit at all; by letting them meet before in a neutral area you can assess whether they have a good chance of being friends with minimal fighting.
It is difficult, even Vets that I have worked with have been turned down for adopting pets - they have these processes in place in the best interests of the animals, and although it is frustrating it have good to see that they are checking who they give their animals to.
Im glad you managed to find a bunny though!

I've had rabbits that didn't fight when they first met, I introduced my nuetered lop to unnuetered 4 month old and no fighting at all. But they where in a ex pen space no bunny had been in before.

I don't like the idea of germs like e.cuniculi or cocci that could be picked up from the shelter.

squidpop said:

I don't like the idea of germs like e.cuniculi or cocci that could be picked up from the shelter.

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Exactly, not to mention other undesirables such as mites and fleas

I suppose that depends on the quality of shelter and whether they quarantine and disinfect correctly. With proper biosecurity these things shouldn’t really be an issue, but of course you can never be 100% safe.

I have experienced more than one pair of rabbits that would not bond no matter what. They were intent on fighting viciously. So there are some rabbits that simply won't get along. The rabbit rescues I've worked with, however, allow exchanges in these circumstances.

The 'bring your rabbit in to pre-screen for potential compatibility' is pretty standard procedure for any rabbit rescue I've dealt with in the US. And I've had to travel an hour as well.