Nibble News
Rabbit Welfare in the UK - Something Has To Change!
(June 28, 2012)Rabbit Welfare in the UK - Something has to change
The main focus of our work currently at Camp Nibble is rabbit welfare. Despite rabbits having recently been identified as the most neglected and cruelly treated pet animal in the UK we are one of a very small number of organisations offering support to them in our area. We aim to improve the welfare of pet rabbits and assist members of the community by providing a very high standard of care to unwanted, abandoned and neglected rabbits. Also by re-homing rescue rabbits responsibly, and educating the public on the proper care of rabbits.
Many pet rabbits are living in conditions where their welfare is being severely compromised. As a result rescue centres are full of rabbits that have suffered through the ignorance of their owners and then through no fault of their own have become unwanted. There are also many members of the community desperately requiring assistance to re-home their rabbits due to changes in circumstances.
The aim of our rabbit welfare project is to considerably improve the lives of many hundreds of abandoned and neglected pet rabbits. This will be demonstrated by the number of rabbits responsibly re-homed by Camp Nibble. It will also complement the campaigns of other welfare organisations and contribute to a more general re-education of the public regarding the proper care of rabbits. This will be demonstrated by an increase in the understanding of what is required in order for rabbits to live a happy, healthy life.
We are unable to responsibly re-home our rescue rabbits prior to neutering and vaccinations. With our current 50% vet discount it costs us around £50 to fully vaccinate and neuter each rescue rabbit that joins us in preparation for re-homing. This is life changing for these rabbits as it gives them the opportunity to be bonded to a companion (extremely important for their welfare) and potentially find a perfect forever home. Neutering is a potentially lifesaving operation for female rabbits as 80% of un-spayed females have begun to develop uterine tumours by age five (the potential lifespan of a domestic rabbit is otherwise ten years or over). Vaccinations protect rabbits from common and usually fatal diseases mxyomatosis and VHD.
For more information regarding the current rabbit welfare crisis please visit our rabbit welfare page.
To help support our work please donate below.
