Abuse or not?

[Ro]

So, I am an avid animal lover but my knowledge about rabbits is lacking quite a lot. A neighbour keeps 2 but before I notify any authorities I wanted some other opinions and possibly knowledge regarding general animal rights laws.

The rabbits in question live in the northwest of Finland, in deep countryside. Whether they’re being kept as meat rabbits is unclear. There’re 2 of them, living in separate wire cages next to each other (apparently they fight when together. Gender unknown but 70% sure they’re both same gender though different species). They each have a little wooden house. The cages aren’t too tiny, all dimensions around 1.5 metres. Though the floor of the cages is wire mesh, they have enough hay on the bottom to stand on. They each have a bowl of pellets, and a water dish though for both the dish is incredibly green and mouldy-looking. The water looks fine though. My main worry is that the cages are outside. They are under an overhanging roof but it gets COLD here, -30C during the long winter. We also have a fairly intense mosquito season here, and one of the rabbits has been bitten on the back of her neck and nose. She has bald patches and slight skin breakage. Having BRIEFLY talked to the owners (the owners and I have a significant language barrier) they are aware of the mosquito bites but say it is getting better. Whether they have taken them to the vets is unclear.

So, my point is, they technically have food, water, hay, not miniature cages and to a certain extent shelter. Am I only being worried as I’m a serial animal-pamperer who feeds her guinea pigs better than herself, or do you think this actually constitutes abuse? Keep in mind that this is deep countryside, dogs kept outside on chains etc is not uncommon and attitudes are very different. And I don’t want to piss off an entire town, ideally.

Any fresh perspectives would be appreciated before I ruin any relationships by reporting it.

Thank you,

Ro

[Bam]

The (equivalent of the) agricultural department in Finland is called Evira. It seems rabbits can’t be housed in wire-bottom cages in Finland unless the net is resting directly on a solid floor. Rabbits should have bedding and hay and be able to hide. They should have an appropriate hutch and be able to see and hear their environment. They should be given the chance of social interaction.
I couldn’t find an English version of the text, only a Swedish one. Here’s their web-page in English:
https://www.evira.fi/en/animals/
If rural Finland is anything like rural Sweden, you do risk making enemies if you report someone.

We have a Finnish member here on BB, I can contact her for you -maybe she’d be willing to give you some advice.

[Jay]

Personally, I would say that abuse. I know in the UK the rspca (at least in my area) would be taking those bunnies away. I’d report them. They probably won’t know it is you who has done it, and you could save two bunnies from a horrible life. They sound cruel- and it’s horrible to keep to rabbits who hare each other near each other! Even if you make enemies, does it really matter? I wouldnt really care about making friends with someone who treats animals like that.

[Author]

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