How we can help
Stray rabbits
We have seen a huge increase in the amount of rabbits being dumped in the wild or left to escape their enclosures without efforts made to retrieve them. If you are aware of a rabbit that is straying, please try to get the rabbit safe and contact us. If you are unable to catch the rabbit, we will attempt to organize a team of volunteers to help. Stray rabbits are then taken to the vets to scan for a microchip, and efforts are made to find the owner. It is a criminal offence to abandon an animal. Often no owner can be located, and we will then take the rabbit into foster with us or secure a rescue placement for them.
Surrendering a rabbit
We understand that sometimes unfortunate, unforeseen circumstances mean that owners need to surrender their rabbits to a rescue. You may wish to have a look at our advice pages, as often reasons for surrender are easily solved.
Our wait list is unfortunately very long at the moment, but we operate a priority system, so please do get in touch if you need our help.
It helps us tremendously if your rabbits are up to date with their vaccinations and are neutered before surrender, as well as ensuring that your rabbits are safe and healthy in the time they are with you.
Hoarding cases
One of the things we are able to do as a nationwide network is coordinate the rescue of rabbits (and sometimes other animals) from cases where there has been animal hoarding, meat farming or accidental over-breeding. We are only able to help if the owner is willing to work with us, and agrees that no rabbits are left behind. In these cases, we co-ordinate rescue placements, organize transport runs, and often fundraise to help cover the costs. If you know of one such case, please get in touch with us.
Neglect cases
Our ability to help in these cases depends on whether the current owner will surrender the rabbit(s) to us. If you see a rabbit who you believe is being neglected, abused, or is otherwise unwell, please do feel free to contact us to see what we can do and we can offer further advice. We are not able to pay for rabbits, nor do we have any legal power to compel an owner to surrender rabbits to us.
'Free to a good home' adverts
Many rabbits are offered for free on online selling sites or social media. Often these rabbits are at risk of being used for snake food or dog bait, or are unneutered and at risk of being used for breeding. We always advise people to offer advice to the poster in the first instance about the dangers of giving animals away for free. Unfortunately this is not always well received. If you are concerned about a rabbit being given away for free, please contact us and we will assess the situation.
We are limited in what we can do with the following situations, but please feel free to contact us with any concerns so that we can offer advice
-
Breeders who are unwilling to surrender all rabbits in their possession.
-
Rabbits being sold in pet shops (unless in exceptional circumstances if they are willing to discuss a case openly with us).
-
Rabbits being sold for profit online.
-
Rabbits being used by petting farms that are unwilling to change this practice.
-
Rabbits where the owner is unwilling to surrender to a rescue.
Unfortunately, paying for rabbits simply perpetuates the cycle of suffering by encouraging people to breed and sell animals as commodities. This is the same whether it is an individual or a large pet shop. Likewise, a breeder who will not surrender all rabbits in their possession is likely making room by clearing 'excess stock' and taking such rabbits is contributing to the problem. If you are concerned about a breeder or pet shop, you may wish to report them to your local council- all pet shops and breeders should have a license and be inspected regularly.
