Pet shop bunny

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Chrisdoc

Chris
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
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Location
Spain
I had to post this as I am so infuriated by the way rabbits are treated and, in general, other pets are treated over here in Spain.

I went to buy hay today and when I was in there last week, they had two little toy bunnies together in an enclosure. When I returned today, they had obviously sold one and the little brown bunny was left on his own. The Perspex enclosure isn´t more than 3feet by 2 feet. The bunny was bored stiff sitting in one corner. he had a bowl of food I wouldn´t feed to any rabbit, it contained corn, seeds and even monkey nuts. The water bowl was enormous but it wasn´t clean, stuff floating in it and it had no hay whatsoever.

When I went to pay for the hay, I mentioned to the shop assistant that the little guy didn´t have any hay and she smiled "sweetly" and said they´d fed him his hay today. I commented that he should have a constant supply of hay to which she said that it´s dangerous to feed them hay all the time and I suggested maybe they should feed him alfalfa hay as he´s a baby. As she´d rubbed me up the wrong way, I then said that the food that he had in his cage was crap and why weren't provided the really good quality pellet they were selling in the shop. I also mentioned that the water was dirty and that it should be changed. By this time, she had taken offence to my comments and asked me if I knew more that their vet and the pet shop to which I replied that they obviously had a crap vet and that she knew absolutely nothing about rabbits or probably any of the other animals she´s selling. If it hadn´t have been for the friend who was with me, I´d have probably hit her as she didn´t care anything for any of those animals. I was really tempted to buy the little bunny but know that I can´t give it a home, I already have three and in that situation, you don´t know what they may be carrying. I just can´t get the image of that beautiful little creature out of my hand and there is nothing I can do.

I feel better having ranted on here but I´ll remember that little face for quite a time to come.
 
Whenever I hear about rabbits being abandoned or mistreated I say to myself, "So many rabbits, so little time." I wish I could help them all too.
 
It's important to remember that everyone has different methods for caring for their animals, whether it's rabbits or dogs, cats, or horses. A 3'x2' enclosure for one small to medium size rabbit is a sufficient size. The rabbit's lack of activity was probably more related to the environment (busy pet stores could make prey animals nervous) or even the time of day. Rabbits are more active at dusk and dawn than in the middle of the day.

Diet is also subjective. Most people agree that the "treat pellets" are not the best diet. But I wouldn't consider it neglect or abuse to offer that. Same with hay - some people never feed hay, some feed it once in awhile, and others feed it daily. As far as the water, it may have been switched out and refilled earlier in the day. I personally use bottles because of how quickly dishes can be spoiled.

Anyway, my intention is not to justify or defend this pet shop. The way I care for my own animals is a bit different from what you've described, but that doesn't necessarily mean the rabbit is not cared for or is in danger. The best thing we can do is care for our own rabbits the best way we feel we can, and encourage others to do the same. :)
 
Chris, I know how you are feeling, we have the same situation in many of our pet shops & other stores that are allowed to sell living creatures here in the US. So much so I hate to go into these "pet" stores. Employees, management & owners here too seem to care more about their financial bottom line than the food & care needs of the animals they are trying to sell. I so much want to save them all but realistically I know I can't. Wish there was a way to make stores give the animals they are trying to sell the good quality food & health care they should always have. Thank goodness we have RO to come here to learn more ourselves & to provide good bunny knowledge to those seeking to learn.

I researched rabbits as part of my search for a good addition to our family, After much research I decided a rabbit was a good match for us but still even with my more informed questions there was still so much I didn't know to ask or about rabbits & their care. My bunnies breeder was very good she answered my questions & kept in contact with me until she felt her babies were in good hands. She is a distance away so we are not in touch like we would be if we were closer. So I got an e-mail from RO from my signing up during my research letting me know of its move or something (I had lost the RO web site.) so I was delighted to have a new resource to come to for help & to meet other bunny lovers. I don't have any bunny people near me that I am aware of so it is nice to have helpful RO member friends here that are just the internet away!

Anyway a big bunny hug to you & your bunnies! I hope & pray that that little bunny you saw at the pet store finds a good caring home. Perhaps you could write up a bunny care list & even include a list of good quality pellets & hay info that the pet store sells & with the URL for RO for the pet shop to give to their new bunny owners. Or maybe you could suggest a bunny starter basket of the good foods from the store for them to sell with the good information you provide & RO link info. You would be helping the store with their sell & helping the bunny buyer with good info!
 
I had a less advanced but a similar situation. Before I got my bunny (and before I knew better than to buy from pet stores) I explored all of the petstores in my area to find any bunnies. There was this one that I was interested in but I wanted the bunny to feel comfortable in my home so I asked if I could buy the cage the bunny was in as well the the lady working there told me that the cage was not suitable for rabbits and I should look into bigger cages. I asked why they were keeping their rabbits in those sized cages and she continued to avoid the question. It just makes me wonder why they don't give the bunnies the proper care if they know they need better :( the bunny was bought by the time I came to check on it later
 
Thanks everyone, I´m still thinking about this little bunny but know that it´s impossible to rescue them all. It wasn´t actually a cage, they keep them in perspex locked boxes, same as the dogs and cats and they seem to be very poorly ventilated. They do sell really good quality timothy hay pellets and both meadow and alfalfa hay so goodness knows why they had that rubbish in there, I really don´t think peanuts with the shell on is suitable food for a rabbit, corn definitely isn´t and I don´t think seeds are either. I just worry that this little one won´t be eating and his gut will stop moving but as you say, you can´t save them all. I really do hope that someone falls in love with him and gives his a loving home which is what that bunny deserves.
 
All you can really hope for is that the bunny gets a good forever home. You just have to remember that some peoples minds are so narrow that their ears rub together. Besides, I've always said that if it was legal to shoot idiots I don't think I could afford the ammo or even be able to carry it. About the only thing I can do and get away with a lot is to "insult" them in such a way that it goes over their head and considering where most of them store their cranium you don't have to shoot more than belly high. I used to have business cards that said "You are cordially invited to attend the theological of eternal punishment". Or, as Gorge Carlin used to say, "God must love stupid people because he mad so many of them."
 
Larry, you´re so right. It´s sometimes like talking to a wall and the girl what I was saying was obviously so far above her head and of not interest whatsoever. I can only hope he´s lucky and someone goes in there and falls in love with him which would be not be difficult, adorable.

I wonder what you get for bunny knapping from a pet shop :dunno
 
Rabbits kept in hutches all day are best with water bottles than dishes because when the rabbit kicks their feet in the air it can kick all the bedding material and droppings into the water, and they can also knock it over. Rabbits should be given regular access to hay because if they don't they can develop GI stasis, not to mention overgrown teeth. They should also be provided with gnaw sticks to keep their teeth from overgrowing. Muesli is not rabbit food. Rabbits are basically miniature horses that regularly eat hay and the occassional treat of fresh veg and fruit in sparing amounts. You wouldn't feed a horse muesli, would you?

Failure to provide fresh and clean water and a proper diet can result in illness from spoiled water, diarrhoea, and GI stasis which is fatal to rabbits, and falls under mistreatment and neglect. If anything pet shops should refrain from displaying rabbits because they need regular attention and exercise and often pet shops do not have the manpower to regularly keep tabs on them.

You should pass this on to the pet shop.
 
I definitely did vent off at the assistant but she was so not interested. In comparison to the UK, pet shops in Spain are terrible. They also had a number of dogs and cats for sale who were also kept in very small perspex boxes as well, none of this is a life for any animal. The assistants know very little about any animals, they´re just there to sell them and the products. It´s a sad fact but animals are, in general, very poorly treated over here. In fact, I am sure that most of them would actually eat my bunnies, that´s the standard joke when they hear you have rabbits. So, we do what we can but it´s an uphill struggle.

However, I am glad I had a rant at the assistant and I will probably go back there on Monday to try again.
 
Most of the kids here that work in pet stores have a love of animals and will listen to you and even improve the conditions. If not we do have recourse. If there are any orgs like the ASPCA, you could always drop a dime. Since it sounds like the person you chatted with is just there for a check I think a brick might be the only thing that would make a mental impression. Good luck.
 
Thanks for making me laugh at all this, I think the brick is the only recourse. Unfortunately, over here we have no real official protection organisation and very few rescues and none that I know of in this area that take in anything but cats and dogs. It´s an unfortunate situation as most people do not view pets and pet care in the same way as we do and you can obviously see the people in this shop are not well informed of the proper care of any of the pets they are selling.

I am involved with a local animal protection society but it´s real slow and hard work to get anything changed but I live in hope.
 
Sorry to hear about that bunny, personally I think that woman's attitude is the most upsetting thing!

As a side story, I just stopped in a pet store while getting lunch for work and had a quick look at the bunnies and one of them did the biggest dead bunny flop I''ve ever seen,completely upside down! It was adorable!
 

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