An animal rescue centre in Bristol has issued an urgent plea as more than 200 rabbits have been in need of rescuing in just six months.
Bristol Rabbit Rescue and Friends has said the city area has reached a 'crisis' point as there has been a surge in people who can no longer look after their pets.
The not for profit organisation provides foster care for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and other small animals until they can be placed into permanent homes. The centre had 221 new requests to rescue rabbits in just six months since November last year and it has only been able to take in 47 of that total so far.
Their work is run solely on a volunteer basis - launched almost four years ago - and relies on its 20 fosterers to take in newly rescued animals, of which, there are currently 42 waiting to be rehomed. Wendy Lloyd, rehoming coordinator and one of six co-founders, believes this rise in the number of rabbits searching for a new home is in part due to a rise in people adopting animals over lockdown and being unable to cope in post-Covid life.
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"Unfortunately, people haven’t done the right research and situations have changed. People are going back to work and children back to school, not researching the pet fully and understanding what their needs are and how much they’re going to cost. This has caused a huge influx of people wanting to surrender their animals," Wendy explained.
"We get lots of different reasons of why people let their animals go. Children have lost interest, work schedules change, or they haven’t got time. There are people who have become unwell and aren’t able to look after [the animal] anymore. We also had a few abandoned ones as well, found in a street and we had some in woodland in a box, who were picked up and brought in to us."
This influx "has piled the pressure" on the rescue centre as they can only do what they can to supply foster places with what they have available. The residents in care the longest - Otis and Tasha - have been with the centre for almost two years due to their complex needs, Wendy said.
This rise in animals being put up for adoption is in turn putting huge amounts of pressure on Bristol Rabbit Rescue and Friends plus many other centres not only in Bristol but across the UK. The RSPA issued a warning last month to highlight their concerns over the number of rabbits being abandoned or given up for adoption and explained the level of commitment a rabbit needed from its owner.
Wendy said she wanted to debunk the common myths that rabbits are easy to look after, an ideal first pet for everyone and suitable for young children. "It’s vital people research. That’s been quite a big problem that people aren’t doing that research first of all and they’re not realising how much space they require, for example. Gone are the days of rabbits and guinea pigs being kept in tiny hutches and just left in the garden."
The rescue centre follows the guidelines set by the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund which recommends a minimum of 60 square feet of living space for the small animal, either indoor or outdoor. Research on accommodation, their complex diet, welfare and veterinary treatment is vital, Wendy added, as many people do not consider the costs a rabbit can incur.
Wendy and her team also promote the Adopt Don't Shop policy and neuter all the adoptees to ensure they cannot be adopted for the sole purpose of breeding as this leads to health issues among certain breeds. They also never allow single rabbits to be adopted without being bonded to another as they need companionship for survival.
The centre charges just £75 per animal adoption which is just a fraction of the costs to fund the animal while it's in foster care. They otherwise rely on donations and fundraising events to sustain their service.
"We have donations and a wish list if people want to support us in helping. Support in helping with fundraising is huge at the moment because we’re self-funded we need to be raising money at all times," said Wendy. The centre is working towards obtaining a charity status, which is a lengthy process, but welcomes people raising money for their centre.
You can find out more about what Bristol Rabbit Rescue and Friends do on their Facebook page or their website.
