RSCPA host Rabbit Awareness Day

RSPCA Rochdale & District Branch will be holding a Rabbit Awareness Day at its Animal Centre on Redcross Street on Friday (24 April).

Between 11am and 3.30pm any rabbit owner can bring in their rabbit to be microchipped for free and for a free health check. Neutering vouchers will also be available to owners on qualifying benefits.

The day is part of the RSPCA's Rabbit Action Week which hopes to ensure bunnies are kept as ‘pets not prisoners’.

Kept in cramped, filthy cages they can barely stand up in, starved to death or the point of emaciation, denied access to water and vital veterinary treatment, neglected, abandoned, and ignored - this is just a snapshot of the lives led by many rabbits brought to the RSPCA’s attention across the north of England.

Rarely a day goes by without the RSPCA receiving a call about rabbits living in appalling conditions, making them one of the most neglected and forgotten pets in the region.

Horrific cases confronted by the RSPCA last year included a seriously ill rabbit that was left to die instead of being taken to the vets, a rabbit that was left to slowly starve to death when its owner moved home, ten rabbits abandoned by a roadside in a cardboard box, three rabbits bought as ‘presents’ that were soon ignored and left without food or water for over a week and a rabbit kept in a decrepit hutch with no shelter from wind or rain.

There was a total of 232 calls relating to incidents of rabbit cruelty, neglect or abandonment in Greater Manchester last year, with 137 calls specifically relating to rabbit neglect, 68 calls to report rabbits being abandoned, 16 calls concerning unnecessary suffering, nine calls about rabbits being unlawfully killed and two calls to report rabbits being beaten.

RSPCA north regional manager Alan Wolinski, said: “These figures are very worrying and show the neglect and abuse suffered by hundreds of rabbits across the north. Often kept alone, in small or otherwise unsuitable hutches, it really is a dismal existence for many rabbits in the region. Yet with the proper space, companionship, exercise and daily care a rabbit can have a good quality of life and be a loving pet.

“Of the many rabbits our inspectors come across living in appalling conditions, most have been bought as a pet on the assumption that they are easy and straightforward 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 of keeping them wears off.

“If people are seriously considering taking on a rabbit as a pet, and want to know about the commitment, time and energy involved then we would urge them to come along to one of the events during our Rabbit Action Week. It will also be a great chance to find out more about adopting an RSPCA ‘rescue rabbit’ and meet some of our bunnies in need of homes.”

For more information, or to enquire about re-homing a rabbit from the branch, telephone Jean Spencer on 01706 861897 or visit www.rspca-rochdale.org.uk