Prominent welfare organisations join call for rabbit breeding legislation.
The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (RWAF) has announced that animal welfare charities and an online classified retailer have joined its Breeding Amnesty campaign.
Preloved, a classified advertising website, is supporting Breeding Amnesty, along with the RSPCA, Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare and Wood Green Pets Charity.
With an unprecedented rise in abandoned rabbits, and an increase in the number of rabbits for sale online, RWAF is highlighting the lack of legislation in rabbit breeding, leading to unwanted and abandoned litters.
In England, anyone is legally allowed to start breeding rabbits and selling the offspring, allowing uneducated and inexperienced owners to have multiple litters. There is not even a requirement to correctly sex the rabbits sold, leading to further potential litters.
A spokesperson from Preloved explained how the selling site will support the campaign: “From 20th March to 9th April 2023, Preloved will stop accepting new listings for rabbits.
“Any listings submitted will be held for review by our moderators before being removed and a courtesy message sent to the would-be seller explaining the Breeding Amnesty campaign.
“We’re announcing this change, 5 weeks in advance, to make breeders aware that they will not be able to list their new litters for sale on Preloved during those dates. If they can pause breeding programmes now there won't be any new litters needing to be sold during the time of the amnesty.”
Dr Jane Tyson, an RSPCA scientific officer, commented: “The number of rabbits entering the RSPCA has surged since the pandemic, possibly because people could no longer care for their pets as life returned to normal, but also as a result of the cost-of-living crisis too.
“As more are coming into our care, our centres are at capacity, and we are utilising private boarding which is costly to us as a charity. At the same time, we are seeing rehoming rates slowing, meaning rabbits are staying with us for longer than ever before.
“We are pleased to support the RWA&F breeding amnesty campaign and would urge anyone thinking of getting rabbits to do plenty of research first and consider adopting from one of our many centres across England and Wales rather than buying from a pet shop or online.”
RWAF has also launched a petition to demand a change in legislation to ensure that rabbit breeders require the same licensing as dog breeders. In just under two weeks, the petition has received over 40,000 signatures.
Head of animal welfare at Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare, Matthew Gough, highlighted the severity of the current situation regarding rabbit breeding: “We were asked to take 605 rabbits over the past 12 months (February 2022 to January 2023). On 1 February 2023, we had 22 rabbits at Raystede waiting for homes – we are completely full, we cannot take any more.
“In January 2023, there were 45 people wanting to surrender their rabbits to Raystede; we rehomed just 1 rabbit. We currently have 22 rabbits belonging to 11 owners on our ‘waiting list’– we have encouraged all the others to keep and care for their rabbits or find another solution, but the situation is untenable.
“RWAF’s campaign to stop breeding and sales would address the problem, not immediately but in the next year or so, thus eventually stopping the flow of ‘new’ rabbits onto the market and driving people who want rabbits to go to rescue centres like Raystede and adopt.
“We would urge everyone to get behind RWAF’s campaign and sign the petition to help improve the welfare of and reduce the numbers of unwanted rabbits.”
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