Where I live, a *lot* of "purebred" rabbits end up in shelters (both rescues and shelters that have to euthanize). This is a heavily agricultural area, and many of them are cast offs from 4H projects. (I have nothing against 4H per se, but I do *so* wish that the emphasis with rabbits would be on responsible pet ownership...)
if I let myself, I'd be over run with rabbits here, as after the agricultural fairs in July and August the local pet stores (not chains, but mom-and-pop stores) have more baby and adult rabbits than they know what to do with. I've yet to see them properly housed and fed - let alone sexed and separated accordingly.
So I stay out of pet stores unless I really need something, and tend to go to a local Petco which doesn't sell rabbits.
No offense to the good breeders, but there are far too many kids - and adults - out there who think that pets of all kinds are disposable, andthere's far too little information (or even concern!) about proper petcare. (Not so much for dogs, cats and horses, but small animals ...argh!!!)
Note: I adopted my bun from a rescue. she's a "mismarked" Dutch. At that time they also had beautiful fuzzy lops, a sweet-natured Frenchlop girl (lovely markings and coat color, too), even a silver marten. They're always slightly beyond capacity, and could easily double or triple the shelter population if they had the means to do so.
