9 Feb 2022
Some rescue centres report a 262% increase in the numbers of unwanted pet rabbits – many bought in lockdown with craze fuelled by rapid rise in unscrupulous new breeders cashing in.
James Westgate
Job Title
Image © Sandy Millar / Unsplash
An increase in rabbit sales during the lockdown is putting huge strain on rescue centres, with thousands of rabbits being abandoned and dumped.
The UK’s largest rabbit welfare charity, The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (RWAF), states that, as the third most popular pet in the UK, rabbits are often considered an easy, low maintenance and low-cost first-time pet, explaining their popularity during the lockdown.
However, misinformation and misunderstanding regarding the complexity and cost of rabbit care is one of the primary reasons why thousands of rabbits are abandoned every year.
Bristol Rabbit Rescue had a total of 34 requests to surrender rabbits in October 2021 in comparison to 13 requests the previous October, showing a percentage increase of 262% unwanted pet rabbits.
Wendy Lloyd of Bristol Rabbit Rescue said that “we had 24 requests in one day alone. We are a small rescue and are getting requests almost daily”.
The vast increase in rabbit sales has been amplified by a surge in new rabbit breeders.
Rescuers have been monitoring free ads sites and have discovered a marked rise in new rabbit breeders “cashing in” on the demand for pet rabbits during the pandemic and its associated restrictions.
Looking at three trading sites, The Rabbit Residence Rescue has identified 66 new rabbit breeders, predominantly offering lops and mini lops, since the first lockdown in March 2020 to October 2021, in comparison to 27 new traders between March 2018 to October 2019. This shows an increase of 244% new rabbit breeders since the first lockdown.
Cinzia Delegate, co-founder of Little Furries Rabbit Rescue in Stanmore, said: “The number of stray and dumped rabbits is the worst we have ever experienced. It is out of control and unmanageable. Sadly, we feel the recent pet sales have contributed to the spiralling effect of the situation, creating an influx of unwanted rabbits being discarded on the streets or through any means possible through social media and sales channels.
“Action to stop breeding and stop sales must be considered as a matter of the utmost urgency.”
The rise of unregulated rabbit breeders is posing a great concern to the RWAF, the Rabbit Awareness Action Group and rescue centres nationwide, especially as inadequate housing continues to be sold and incorrect care advice remains to be given.
Rae Walters, director of the RWAF, said: “There is a misconception that rescue rabbits are ‘damaged goods’, and so new owners prefer to get new rabbits from shops and breeders, but this simply isn’t true.
“Rescue rabbits are not damaged, most have been simply abandoned and are in need of a loving home. The issue is the constant supply on demand for ‘new rabbits’, so rabbit breeders will continue to breed rabbits like it’s going out of fashion, intensifying the problem just to line their pockets with zero concern for animal welfare.”
The RWAF’s Adopt Don’t Shop campaign urges anyone who is looking to buy pet rabbits to “adopt don’t shop” and give abandoned rabbits a second chance.
