Rabbit Adoption - Everything You Need To Know

Cat and dog adoption are common topics of interest among most pet lovers. However, recently, there has been a rise in popularity when it comes to rabbit adoption. It is important to remember, as with all cases of adoption, one needs to be aware of what to consider before adopting a pet. In fact, people are often not aware of the funds and responsibility it takes to care for an animal and as a result, the numbers of animals that are abandoned has increased.

Are you thinking of adopting a rabbit? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Here at AnimalWised we will be discussing everything that needs to be taken into consideration before and during bunny adoption. Keep reading for more.

Rabbit abandonment: the main reasons people abandon rabbits

It is difficult to comprehend how someone could get rid of such a beautiful ball of fur, but unfortunately the truth is that it happens more often that one would like to think. Despite being smart, quiet and sociable animals, rabbits, just like any other pet, and any other living being - requires a number of things in order to live a happy and healthy bunny life. Rabbits, as with all animals, require;

• Food and water
• A cage
• Socialization
• Exercise

In addition, you should provide your bunny with a hygienic space, warmth, love and games (for it’s mental and physical development). If you don’t have these resources before adopting a rabbit, we suggest not doing so. If you do have a rabbit, but are lacking some of it’s important needs, know that animal abandonment is not a solution.

The main causes of animal abandonment are usually;

• Lack of time
• Holidays
• Lack of financial resources
• Allergies
• Moving house
• Birth of children

If you’ve decided to take on the responsibility of adopting an animal, you need to remain just as responsible if one of the above problems starts to affect you. As such, you should spend time and energy on finding it a home where it can develop and lead a happy and fulfilled life. It doesn’t matter if you’re not prepared or you don’t know how to look after a rabbit. Take time to learn, save funds and take responsibility of ensuring your animal lives a happy and healthy life.

Again, we cannot stress enough the importance of research before adoption. This is fundamental in order to decrease the amount of abandoned animals in the world.

In addition, many people wonder if they can release a pet rabbit outside into the wild and the answer is NO. A domestic rabbit that is abandoned should not be left outside (and should not be abandoned in the first place). In fact, most pet rabbit breeds have been bred by humans and are called domestic rabbits for a reason, they are domesticated. This means that domestic rabbits do not know how to survive in the wild like wild rabbits do. Therefore, if you abandon your rabbit outside, they will be killed by a predator or die from lack of ability to survive alone. If this does not happen, the alternative result are large unwanted rabbit colonies (due to uncontrolled rabbit reproduction). These rabbit colonies sadly end up dead; shot or poisoned by land owners protecting their plants from being eaten.