An animal welfare charity is continuing to raise concerns amid a flood of protests following this week's episode of Stacey Solomon's BBC show Sort Your Life Out.
After the screening on Wednesday, there was an angry backlash on social media from viewers upset by scenes involving rabbits which some felt amounted to cruelty. Among the protests were concerned animal welfare charities which were prompted to share a warning of the risks caused to rabbits without proper care.
One of them, The Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals, took to Twitter to share its upset at seeing rabbits in hutches, as shown on the show, and on Friday it tweeted Stacey Solomon again to add: "So disappointed you did not research the needs of rabbits before you rehoused them in a hutch that was totally unsuitable.
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"You need to make some sort of a statement or revisit the family and address this situation please!" The episode of the reality show hosted by Solomon featured a family-of-four called Fall whose clutter had spiralled out of control and it saw the popular TV personality and her team step in to help clear out their home.
They are seen sorting through their clutter and packing possessions into boxes as they tackled around 2,137 toys, 452 books and 61 mugs, reports Wales Online. The dad had ADHD and struggled to let go of his collection of 13 guitars and 1,274 tools.
Expert organiser Dilly Carter even presented them with £2,000 in cash and cheques found in their overloaded home. But it was scenes of the family's rabbits that caused the big reaction among viewers as the pets were seen moved being from a conservatory into a hutch which many said was unsuitable and not weather-proofed.
Among the reaction on Twitter were comments including: "What you did to those rabbits was absolute cruelty. They're not toys" and "Made the mistake of watching the end of Sort Your Life Out. Poor rabbits got kicked out of the conservatory into a c***py, tiny, non-weatherproofed hutch outside! Completely unsuitable and irresponsible."
Others after watching the BBC show added "Enjoyed this tonight until the rabbits were kicked into the garden. That hutch is too small for anything other than a bolt hole! There's enough bad rabbit rearing without this encouragement" and "Stacey Solomon gutted to hear that your advocating housing rabbits in inappropriate housing in Sort Your Life Out. Shows like this could do so much to promote good animal welfare. Please rectify by spreading the news a Hutch is Not Enough."
Animal welfare charity ASWA initially tweeted: "Very disappointed with the decision on rehousing the family pet rabbits on Sort Your Life Out. Stacey Solomon - you need to research the suffering endured by thousands of pet rabbits in small hutches."
Wales Online reports the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund as saying: "Hundreds of thousands of pet rabbits are suffering. This is because commercially sold rabbit hutches spread the idea that hutches are sufficient housing for pet rabbits.
"They are not. Hutches are too small and can lead to the development of depression and physical deformities. To end this suffering, the sale of rabbit hutches needs to stop." It invited people to sign a petition to bring an end to what it called the "torture which many rabbits know as 'home’. "
The Rabbit Welfare Trust's website says: "As part of our A Hutch is Not Enough campaign, we give information to owners to allow them to give their rabbits what they need to lead healthy and contented lives. It is heartening to know that ensuring the welfare of animals is protected by law, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006."
There are five basic welfare needs:
- A suitable environment - rabbits need a large, secure enclosure, as detailed below, with space to exercise
- A suitable diet - a natural one made up of about 85% hay or grass plus 10% leafy greens and five per cent extruded pellets
- Ability to exhibit normal behaviour patterns - rabbits should be able to display their natural behaviours such as jumping, digging, foraging and rearing on hind legs
- Companionship - it's said to be cruel to keep a rabbit on its own as they are said to need company as much as food so a neutered rabbit could be ideal
- Protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease.- Rabbits should be neutered and vaccinated.
The site says: "Keeping rabbits in a hutch would never enable an owner to meet these welfare needs. Rabbits should be housed in a safe and enclosed area of 3m x 2m x 1m high.
"The hutch, or sleeping area, forms a part of this total space, which should also include items of enrichment such as a digging tray, tunnels etc. The hutch should never be the sole accommodation for rabbits, they need constant (and that means 24/7) access to the wider overall space to allow them to exercise at will.
"Giving your rabbits access to all or part of a secure garden for 'free running' sessions is great but this is in addition to our minimum size recommendations, not instead of."
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