At the Fair

[LittleBunnyPaws]

All day, I was at the fair enjoying the rides and the several junk foods.. Not to proud of myself for eating large amounts of greasy fries and sugary sweets, but hey.. It’s once a year. Haha.

Where I live, today was not a great day to go to the fair. It was extremely cold, and for most of the day, it was raining.

Like all fair’s, this one had a small area for all the animals for kids to pet, and all of the 4H animals. I was obviously attracted to the rabbits first, which was bad..

Where the rabbits were being held, there was no shelter or even a small tent to keep the wind and rain off of them.

All of the rabbits were soaked, and held in small cages with wire bottoms, no hay, no pellets, and no water. To help you get an idea of how cold it was, most people were wearing winter coats, and still complaining about the wind. There were no tops on the cages, and the rabbits could have easily jumped out. All of the rabbits had very long nails, and bloody hocks. There were screaming toddlers everywhere, and one little girl was even picking one of the rabbits by its ears. It was horrible. One of the rabbits was breathing heavily, and he barely looked alive. To my surprise, a grown adult was harassing and shaking the cage of this half dead bunny. I told one of the girls who owned the rabbits about how the rabbit was clearly in pain, and how the people clearly weren’t respecting the rabbits.. And she told me it was no big deal.

Are you kidding me? Of course it’s a big deal! The poor rabbit.. If I could’ve taken it home.. I would’ve.

So yeah, that’s my story.. Why are people like that..? It makes me so angry..

[longhairmike]

fairs are like the absolute worst places for bunnies to end up,, some of them even give them away as carnival prized to people who have no idea how to care for a bunny

[Flabebe]

Part of the problem is simply because the 4H people dont view the rabbits as wonderful companion animals that they are. Ultimately, some rabbits are actually bred for meat in some 4H circles. (I dont like it at all!) Actually, when I went to the fair this year my partner would not let me look at some of the signs in the bun area because of this! Ultimately the problem lies with how the rabbits themselves are viewed. However, I do find it absolutely stomach wrenching to hear about the weather conditions and the lack of care given. And the thing about the general populace not respecting rabbits…… The general populace, in my experience, does not respect anything or want to learn. (It may sound bleak, but I swear I am optimistic!) There is a reason why not just rabbits are abused and in shelters. Some people just want to say “how cute” and know nothing more. And that is probably the worst part.

[Eepster]

Posted By Flabebe on 9/14/2014 1:27 AM

Part of the problem is simply because the 4H people dont view the rabbits as wonderful companion animals that they are. Ultimately, some rabbits are actually bred for meat in some 4H circles. (I dont like it at all!) Actually, when I went to the fair this year my partner would not let me look at some of the signs in the bun area because of this! Ultimately the problem lies with how the rabbits themselves are viewed. However, I do find it absolutely stomach wrenching to hear about the weather conditions and the lack of care given. And the thing about the general populace not respecting rabbits…… The general populace, in my experience, does not respect anything or want to learn. (It may sound bleak, but I swear I am optimistic!) There is a reason why not just rabbits are abused and in shelters. Some people just want to say “how cute” and know nothing more. And that is probably the worst part.

That’s a really unfair thing to say about 4H.  I was in it for years as a teen, it is nothing like that.  It sounds like the OP was seeing the rabbits brought by the company that ran the petting area, not by a 4H club.  

[JackRabbit]

I don’t know anything about 4H, but maybe Flabebe was referring more to the girl saying it didn’t matter when LBP pointed out the bunny in pain? Kids do tend to adopt the attitude of those teaching them.

The only time I’ve really dealt with anything 4H related was when I was considering adding another bunny. U had inquired about an adorable 8 month old lop. He had just been adopted but after lots of questions, I was offered his brother. Turned out that the brother had some medical problems when he was a baby and was very special to the family — they wanted to find him a home but would keep him themselves if they couldn’t find the *right* home. He was adorable but having I need to be able to get pet insurance on all my buns and when I checked, the insurance company would exclude so much on him that I just couldn’t do it. The 4Her’s family decided to keep him as a pet.

[LBJ10]

From my experience, how 4H is run and what they focus on varies widely. Some are still focused on rabbits as livestock and teach kids about animal husbandry, while others have progressed to viewing rabbits as house pets and focus more on teaching kids how to care for them as such. I have seen some very sad situations where a 4H young person just lets their rabbits breed like, well, rabbits and they all live outside in hutches (and the parents really don’t seem to care). But I have also met some young people in 4H who show their bunny that is kept as a house pet and you can tell the bunny is loved very much. Some 4H groups are even encouraging spaying/neutering now, which wasn’t “allowed” by many groups for a long time.

The 4H barn where the rabbits are kept at my local fair is sheltered. But it is usually hot and there are just big fans blowing. All of the rabbits are in tiny show cages with wire bottoms. The good news is that they are only in there for the show.

LBP – Was this the petting zoo or was this the 4H show? If it is the petting zoo, then you can find out who the company is and report them. I don’t know who investigates animal cruelty where you are. It could be animal control, the police, or the health department.

[Sindri]

My nephew is in the 4H and they showed a pig last year and this year. Last years pig was butchered and they ate him. I was very saddened by it to the point I almost gave up on eating meat all together. I think they are going to do the same with this one but I haven’t spoken with them about it. They thought of showing a rabbit because their daughter had one for a few years but it died. I think they decided on the pig because they could butcher and eat it as well as show it.

As LHM said some fairs give rabbits away like prizes. my niece got her first rabbit that way and it didn’t live very long at all.

It is sad to hear about the rabbits at that fair.

[MoxieMeadows]

I know the whole situation is horrible, but I don’t see much that you can do in this situation… Poor buns

[LittleBunnyPaws]

I just wanted to point out how badly they were being treated and how much it upset me.

Unfortunately, all rabbit owners know that rabbits are still considered less of a pet than say a dog or a cat.

We all know that if those were kittens, they would have been in a better shelter, they would’ve had food and water available, and people would be reminding the children to treat them gently. And that is what upsets me even more, the fact that people still see rabbits as livestock.

Most people don’t get that rabbits have extremely sensitive bones.

So, now that my rant is done.. Haha. I’m just saying that I would absolutely hate to see Midas in a small wire crate with children tugging at his ears and screaming at him

[Flabebe]

Eepster, I did not mean to offend you at all! Or make the generalization that 4H is “horrible” or “bad” at all. As JackRabbit stated, I am very concerned about how that particular person cared for their own rabbit. And I completely blame the fairgrounds themselves for the bad environment. I live in an agricultural based area and my partners elder brother and mother have been involved in 4H (they raised rabbits, and did a few other things)as well as my partner being in FFA when he was younger. (both 4H and the FFA are big things where I live) And I have had many a friends with pet rabbits and show rabbits, so from what I have been shown my area tends to teach 4H as rabbits as livestock, instead of pets. (Although there are quite a few exceptions) Every person is responsible for their own rabbit, and I was not trying to state that everyone or everything about 4H is bad, just that they usually tend to have a different perspective on rabbits. My own fair shows the rabbits outside with a roof and quite a few fans. My local fair is shown usually when it is extremely hot, and many of the 4H people have been fighting for the rabbits to be indoors here, but to no avail. Part of the problem in this is simply the fair and fair sponsors. The people up top, so to speak. However, I do find it appalling that the rabbits had NO shelter.And I find it extremely worrisome that a particular person said the rabbit was “fine” when it clearly was not. Once again, I did not mean to offend you, or any 4H person, Eepster. I did not mean to make a hasty generalization about 4H, and I probably could have chosen my words more carefully or wrote more clearly. 4H is a very good program, they just teach about rabbits a bit differently is all.

In the end LBP, just remind yourself that you have Midas and to look on the bright side. Perhaps, if anyone is willing to listen next time, you could educate at least one person and possibly that may spread

[LittlePuffyTail]

This type of thing is what makes being a bunny lover very hard at times. We treat our bunnies like family, others treat them like livestock with no feelings or emotions. Sometimes it’s very hard to deal with.

[LittleBunnyPaws]

I agree 100% with you LBT.. It’s truly horrible.

[JackRabbit]

That is what makes it hard because bunnies ARE family! I could never look at my babies, or any other bunny for that matter as livestock. Probably a good thing I’m a city girl because there’s no telling what all animals I’d end up with as pets!

[Flabebe]

JR, I’m a city girl at heart, but man those alpacas are just too darn cute! ((I really would have one if I could))

And the freaky thing is that different countries have different standards and ethics as to what a pet is! Some countries view dogs and cats as….. well, food. D: I think if we as individuals spead a bit of bun knowledge here and there it will eventually make a difference (I feel like I’m going off topic, sorry)

[LittleBunnyPaws]

Quite alright Danielle. :p I get what you mean, it just frustrates me that people still don’t know that bunnies are pets, not livestock.

[MeketatenBun]

When I was in 4H with my first Havana, the rabbits were in an actual sheltered barn with big fans (for the August heat) and doors that were closed at locked at night. The bottom cages were just wire and the top had plywood bottoms. When Nefi was in a bottom cage, I’d bring a carpet square for her to sit on and fresh hay to eat on top volunteering each day to feed and water all the rabbits in the barn… and I STILL hated bringing her to fair. It was clear she was stressed and didn’t like to be there, but if I ever entered a fair that had those kind of conditions that you described I would’ve turned right around with my rabbit and never returned. I only joined 4H so I could convince my parents to let me get a rabbit (I was 11 at the time), so I went in with the idea of a bunny being a companion and family member.

I nearly cried just reading your post about the conditions those bunnies were in…

[Emillie]

How in the world was the fair ok with that kind of conditions for the animals. The fairs i attend are very strickt on animal care while the animals are at the fair. Theycant prevent the stress on the animals from being viewed by all the people but they make sure they are comfortable and out of the elements. The fair i got my new bunny Honey from had people watching the doors to the barns when it was raining to make sure the floor was dry for the people and that the rain and wind wouldnt touch the buns they had tarps on the isle ends and a couple of warmers since it got chilly after the rain. I dont like the idea of raising buns just to sell at 9 weeks old but people do it and those buns need homes just as much or more than the shelter buns (at least the shelter buns r safe from being sold as meat if they arent sold by a certain date). I dont know where you go for your fairs but in the suburbs and cities in ohio all the fairs i know of have barns with fans and heat for all the animals not just a select few. I think that improves the show out of people too since u can still come on a rainy day and be comfortable while u see the animals who are also nice and dry inside.

[trekkiebun]

This is why I’ve stopped letting myself go places like fairs and pet stores where I know animals (especially bunnies) might be present but not properly cared for. Employees in stores where the rabbits are only given pellets and not hay, people telling “amusing” anecdotes about how their their rabbit was ~mysteriously~ eaten by an outdoor predator or impregnated by accident… I’ve been known to give strangers an earful or two about how rabbits should be treated!

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