Cheyrul wrote:
some of you are nuts and seriously need a life outside of your rabbits.
You have absolutely no way of knowing for sure that the cage was too small or inadequate, the exact breed of bunny or if she did any research. From the article it was a 3 month campaign from her kids, since she purchased all necessary supplies a bunny needs, she did some type of research.
Any seriously? you say she was horrible to get them but you want her to KEEP them when she, according to you, had the wrong cage and it was outside which apparently is abusive(?)and the rabbits were with children (which mine own are- actually the rabbits are children's!)and NEGLECTED. Again, you say if she was responsible she should have keep them, I say she was responsible by giving them a probably better life.
Here is a little back story on our rabbits and how we got them, I was accused of have munchausen's by proxy, so my 7 kids were placed in foster care to supposedly heal while they terminated my parental rights. Long story short, the kids were placed in a very neglectful and emotionally abusive home for 9 mo, then separate into sets of two and placed in 4 different homes. One set of set went with some loving (actually all the new foster homes were good) people who had a farm and used to raise African greys (which my sister and parents did also, so I know about their needs). At this home, each of the foster kids (3) were given a bunny when they went to an animal auction. One rabbit died, the other two were a male and female, which were housed outside in a cage that was probably 2'x 3'and had a wire bottom which set directly on the ground. When it rained, the cage was covered in a tarp and they were fed pellets, apples and carrots every day. They had an African Grey house in a similar cage hanging in pine tree (which here offer little to no shade) and in the same cage was a guinea pig... according to you, the foster parents would have been RESPONSIBLE pet owners had they KEPT the animals. The bunnies were the only positive thing that happened to my kids in 14 months, while I proved the state wrong. Since my kids loved their bunnies, I did research on what we would need keep them. Everything I found on the web gave glowing reports and made it and potty training so very easy, it is not. So know, we have 4 bunnies I would prefer not to and a chewed up house. Yet, I am positive you would consider me a bad person because I have one cage which houses 4 and I have kids who carry the rabbits every and play with them constantly and sometimes the kids are too rough, sometimes the bunnies are too rough, sometimes it is the dog ... whatever, the bunnies are better off than being in a stew or casserole which could have happened at an auction or as snake food.
Who said keeping rabbits outside is abusive? I don't see that statement anywhere on this thread.
I live in the UK. Most rabbits in this country live outside. Those living outside who are well looked after have spacious hutches or perhaps converted sheds with attached runs, all secure from predators. They have enough space to play, to demonstrate natural behaviours such as running, digging, stretching and hopping.
The dimensions I quoted are the recommendations given by the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund of which I have been a supporter for many years. They are also from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Blue Cross and the Welsh Assembly, which is the governing body of Wales, one of the countries that makes up the UK.
This information can be found on the RWAF website here
A Hutch is Not Enough campaign pages and a shorter version here
A Hutch is Not Enough leaflet In addition there is information about bonding rabbits - another aspect of natural behaviour
Bunny Buddies leaflet, information on keeping rabbits outside
Rabbits need SECS! leaflet and this which is now due for updating written during the draft period prior to the Animal Welfare Act coming into force
Rabbit Owners - don't get caught out by the Animal Welfare Bill leaflet
There is plenty of information about this, plenty of advice. I don't know who in this thread has criticised outdoor bunnies...it certainly wasn't me.
The article stated that the rabbits were dwarfs. That gives us a good idea of their size.
None of us has any idea at all what kind of life those rabbits went to. We cannot be sure it was better, nor that it was worse, only that the columnist seemed very pleased that she had got rid of them. She seemed totally disinterested in their fate after that.
4 rabbits in one cage? Anywhere near as big as it would be according to what our UK guidelines advise?
Of all the rabbits I've had only one has refused to use a litter tray...but she uses the same spot every time, and so I use a waterproof doormat where she has chosen for her toilet, and change and wash those mats each day...problem solved.
the bunnies are better off than being in a stew or casserole which could have happened at an auction or as snake food.
It seems to me that like the first sentence, this is included in an effort to cause both offence and distress