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Forum THE LOUNGE I’m getting mean e-mails for advocating house rabbits

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    • Karla
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      1624 posts Send Private Message

        As I have mentioned in the August thread, I have a website on house rabbits – and on this website, I also argue for having more than one bunny.

        Apparently, some breeders have found my website and have decided in joined effort to let me know how they feel about house rabbits. I have received several e-mails from breeders, who are not particularly using a nice language, telling me that it is animal cruely to have more than one bunny together and are questioning my knowledge on rabbits.

        So, I have been polite and informed them of books they can read and websites to study, if they are interested in knowing more about house rabbits. Oh, but you know what – they already know of House Rabbit Society. In fact, that is a laughing stock among breeders ’cause it is so american and silly and they have no actual knowledge to share. And by the way, yes, they have heard about house rabbits – that is something americans keep, which says it all. And they were confident that if I checked my rabbits, I would find bruises all over them.

        I was honestly so upset and sad last night. Well, I still am! Here I am trying so hard to work for rabbit welfare and educate more people on house rabbits, and then these people who claim to love rabbits react like that and are so rude to me.

        I wrote back to the most rude and persistent one of them and said that as a rabbit lover I could not tire of reading books or studies about them, so if he had any great studies or books on why rabbits are solitary animals, I would be very happy if he would let me know. I haven’t bothered to check my mail again though. Not sure I want to for a very long time!

        I mean, I would never write to a breeder and call him ugly things and tell him it is animal cruelty to keep them in such conditions in such small cages. So why do people who actually keep them like that care enough to insult me? Somehow, I guess they must love rabbits in order to take the time out and write to me…but why don’t they read books and studies then if they are interested in rabbits?

        Sorry, for going on about this. I’m just going through a really hard time and this was just way too much for me.

         

         


      • MissKris&Koji
        Participant
        279 posts Send Private Message

          I think people just hate the feeling of being wrong, so they will cling to their beliefs, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. I guess that’s why arguments often go nowhere and people have to “agree to disagree”. I personally find science and studies to be the most persuasive, and would be inclined to listen to something with empirical evidence rather than “this is how it’s always been done”. True that many times folk remedies and so on exist for a reason and there is some truth to them, but that is not always the case, and it also doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way of doing things.

          I guess I don’t really subscribe to “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”.

          But back on topic, it is a shame they can’t at least be polite about it, and give you well-reasoned and thoughtful explanations of why they feel the way they do. I think *most* opinions are worth hearing out if someone can do that, but if someone is being outright nasty and belligerent I think it’s obvious that it doesn’t matter what you say back – they aren’t interested in learning, changing themselves, or changing you. They just want to be *!&@heads. I think that is the thing with the internet, too, people feel so much more comfortable letting all their inappropriate urges and childlike behavior loose because of the relative anonymity. I bet you half of those people wouldn’t say that stuff to your face. So I would just think of them as nothing more than idiot pranksters.


        • Barbie
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            Awww boo! I completely agree with misskrisnyc, and she said it better than I could have!

            I commend you for running the website to try to educate people, even when faced with those nasty emails. Please keep doing it. No doubt, you’re helping lots of people who are interested in bunnies as pets and don’t know where to turn. I know where you live, bunnies aren’t viewed as pets and as a result, the available information and experienced vets are limited, so a site like yours could be a huge help for someone who needs help caring for their bunny (and maybe didn’t even know they needed help!).

            Unfortunately, it’s always easier for people to be nasty. You rarely see positive reviews online like under Google search about a restaurant or an apartment complex. While I may have had a very pleasant experience with a business, I’ve never gone out of my way to post a good review, but if I’m upset, that anger and self righteousness will fuel me to want to write a scathing expose (I never have though lol, because while the internet does provide SOME anonymity, I think most people overestimate their privacy online). And to take the time to send a thank you directly to a site owner or a business, well, that’s probably going to be very unlikely for someone to do, unfortunately.

            So keep up the good work and just know that your website DOES help people and bunnies, even if no one takes the time to thank you… So… THANK YOU!

            I know we’re not supposed to promote personal websites or anything on BB, so idk if you can post it here… so instead will you PM me the link? I’d like to check it out.


          • kralspace
            Participant
            2663 posts Send Private Message

              dittos to all above. Maybe we should swamp your site with photos of loving couples/groups snuggling? (not talking about my Pringles and Lola here…lol)


            • Karla
              Participant
              1624 posts Send Private Message

                Oh, please do…although bear in mind that I have been told that the only reason they snuggle is because you mistreat them and they are scared and stressed. But honestly, I would love photos to swamp the website!

                I do have some photos of bunnies from here. I started out wanting to do a book and asked for photos, but I changed it into a website and used some of the photos.

                Well, at least I know of ONE person who has written and told me I have changed her life, because she really wanted bunnies but she could not get herself to put them in a small hutch in the yard, but then she came across my website and although the breeder told her it was pointless to try to have a house rabbit, she has a boy and a girl now living a great life indoors

                Thanks guys for your support. I really needed to vent and have the support from other house rabbit people.


              • Sarita
                Participant
                18851 posts Send Private Message

                  I think that’s always the struggle when you are introducing something new. I’m sure when the House Rabbit Society started they got the same types of reaction. I think the thought of having house rabbit spayed and neutered is still a very new thing even in the US.

                  I do think it’s wrong and childish for those people to seek you out and write nasty emails though.

                  Don’t let them get you down and keep up the good work. I imagine there are more than the one person you’ve helped out there but they just haven’t written. I’m glad that the one person did write you – that should tell you that what you are doing matters.


                • RabbitPam
                  Moderator
                  11002 posts Send Private Message

                    Since it’s your own site, look into the ability to block certain people, trolls, who just want to make trouble for someone. You ultimately have the right to delete anything you don’t want on your site. If they don’t like it, let them make their own website. You can state that you reserve the right to edit what is posted. They’ll lose interest soon.


                  • Doe of Chai
                    Participant
                    33 posts Send Private Message

                      Hang in there and keep doing what you believe in. Its amazing how much of a personality is revealed by a rabbit that is free to roam compared to a rabbit who is only able to do a single jump within an enclosed cage. Those who are writing you are probably dealing with rabbits that live a life of depression, so therefore the viewer/handler is unable to fathom how there can be more to these precious creatures. If you watch programs on animal breeding farms, its sad to see how many breeders give no respect to their creatures and will even go so far to having animals like dogs crammed into a cage, where they can’t even turn and their flesh is being cut into by the wall fencing. When asked why, the “farmer” can’t even understand why the filmer is heartbroken by the situation, and just shrugs and says things like “space = money”.

                      From all the bunnies that can’t speak:
                      “Thank you for doing what you are doing!”


                    • Kyoshi
                      Participant
                      234 posts Send Private Message

                        Ugh. Thats a shame considering the fact that they are gonna contradict evrything you say. I bet next theyre gonna be saying “YOU feed them VEGGIES?! ARE YOU SIROUS!? EVERYONE with HALF a mind know they only eat PATATO CHIPS!” Ugh. It sounds like your in a pickle. Maybe you should begin simply saying that you dont care for there comments, that they are being immature and rude, That you bunnies are perfectly happy (Might want to post a binky or two) And that it is none of there buisness to be poking there noses in your personal life. If i were you, I would take a couple pics from people with groups/ couples (A member just posted a pic of like 30 buns getting along together. GREAT pic!) and get a couple statements from them on how much happier there buns are. If we all pitch in, they surely cant be able to ignore comments from 3000+ People with double+ Bunnies!


                      • Michelle&Lolli
                        Participant
                        2347 posts Send Private Message

                          I know it’s hard but try not to take it to heart. People are absolute morons and more so when they’re on the internet.


                        • Moonlight_Wolf
                          Participant
                          1155 posts Send Private Message

                            Yea They probably tell you you are wrong because they don’t want to admit they they had treated rabbits wrongly for all those years and distributed wrong information about them.
                            Imagine if someone told us that romane lettuce was actually poisonous to bunnys and anyone feeding it was slowly poisoning their bunnies to death. Anyone feeding their bunny’s romane lettuce would be in denial and refuse to belive the person was right, maybe that is how the breeders feel. Maybe after a while some will come around.

                            The breeder I got Fern from was all for housing bunnies together, but she believed that neutering/spaying them was too risky. At least she was a bit more knowledgable then these breeders.


                          • Karla
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                              I feel so much better with all your support.

                              I think the point about the romane lettuce is right on. But that is why I always want academic studies – personal experience just doesn’t do it for me, so it doesn’t matter that one of the breeders claim that he has watched wild european rabbits for a long time and that they are solitary animals. ‘Cause serious and long-term studies underground (e.g. by Lockley) proves something completely different.

                              I really ought to get a hold of many of those studies that the president of House Rabbit Society refers to in her book “Stories rabbits tell..”, so I can fight off any assaults with serious studies!

                              I can only imagine what the people behind House Rabbit Society had to go through if I get e-mails only because of my website…


                            • babybunsmum
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                                glad you’ve gotten some support here! i’m on board with what others have said too. especially the advice to bear in mind that unfortunately people rarely leave positive comments. “watching” rabbits as qualification for having an informed opinion? please. that’s laughable. pretty subjective without education / scientific backup isn’t it?

                                a general observation… it seems to me that people who purport to an expert on something rarely are. the more grandiose some one is the less i trust their opinion. you can sniff these people out because when you ask them to qualify their statements they act offended to distract you from the fact that they have no qualifications at all.


                              • LoveChaCha
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                                6634 posts Send Private Message

                                  Karla, could you message me your website? I am very interested in viewing it

                                  Have you read “Stories Rabbits Tell?” It is a very good book indeed


                                • Karla
                                  Participant
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                                    I have it, yes, and read it this winter. I think I want to read it again. I will read Lockley again as well. I will try to find the time, but it is not easy – especially not when I have to play FrontierVille as well on FB all the time LOL

                                    Brittany and Barbie, I will pm the url to the website…but you do know that it is not in English? It will just be jibberish to you. But I will do so later today, I promise!

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                                Forum THE LOUNGE I’m getting mean e-mails for advocating house rabbits