Say no now to a pet rabbit

May 10 2008 by Hilarie Stelfox, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THIS IS a plea to all those considering buying a pet rabbit for their children.

In a word: Don’t.

Not unless you are prepared to devote a large amount of time, money and thought to the animal’s welfare.

Pet rabbits look irresistibly cute in the pet shop: tiny fluffy bundles of twitching noses, whiskers and bright eyes.

But, as the RSPCA and other animal charities know, owners quickly tire of them and the responsibility of keeping them wears thin.

The RSPCA recently announced that it had rescued a record number of abandoned pets in the last year, including rabbits.

Even rabbits who are not abandoned, frequently spend most of their lives locked into a small hutch. And unless they are handled regularly they can become aggressive and difficult.

Until my daughter acquired a rabbit two years ago I had no experience of dealing with rabbits. But I now know that, fond of her though we are, it’s doubtful we will ever have another.

For starters, it strikes me as just plain cruel to keep a naturally lively and active animal cooped up most of the time.

But, unfortunately for rabbits, they require high levels of supervision if allowed to roam inside the house. Within a short space of time our rabbit, Nibbler, had chewed through several wires, gnawed the hem of our curtains and nibbled on the sofas. She pulled the wallpaper off the dining room wall and ate the houseplants.

In the summer months we give her the run of the garden and it’s lovely to see her hopping about, nibbling this and that. She comes to sit with us when we’re relaxing and likes to watch us when we’re working. Although she has an outdoor run with nesting box, she prefers to sleep in her own burrow, safe under the pampas grass.

It upsets me every October when we bring her in for the winter and she spends her days hunched up, looking through the bars of her hutch.

My other “don’t’’ is don’t believe your son/daughter when they say they will care for their rabbit. Because they won’t.