RABBITS have become one of the most neglected pets in the region according to the RSPCA.
Officers have come across horrific cases where the animals have been kept in cramped, filthy cages, starved to death, denied access to water and veterinary treatment and generally abandoned and ignored.
The RSPCA is now launching a campaign to raise standards of care.
Last year, the north region received 1,402 calls relating to incidents of rabbit cruelty, neglect or abandonment.
In West Yorkshire there were 255 calls, including nine reporting that a rabbit had been unlawfully killed.
Alan Wolinski, RSPCA north regional manager, said: “Of the many rabbits our inspectors come across living in appalling conditions, most have been bought as a pet on the assumption they are easy to look after.
“Sadly, many are then kept in small hutches out of sight where they all too easily become forgotten pets. As a result they lead a miserable life on their own at the bottom of the garden after the novelty wears off.”
Horrific cases the RSPCA has confronted include a rabbit that was left to starve to death when its owner moved home and one kept in a decrepit hutch with no shelter from the rain.
Running from March 28 to April 5, Rabbit Action Week aims to educate pet owners in how to provide fully for their rabbit’s needs.
The Huddersfield and District branch will be offering rabbit owners a subsidised neutering service and free microchipping.
For more information contact participating vets Donaldson & Partners, Anrich vets and West Mount Vets.
