Regarding all of this, I have to let you all know that I have been lenient on the rules, and even participated  with  and started discussion like this one because I feel so strongly about these things just like you do, but I have to remind us all (me included) that we do have a rule regarding posts that discuss conditions and policies at specific pet stores - the rule says: Avoid using the actual names of petstores when discussing their conditions and/or policies. It is appropriate to name a specific store and location if a member is looking for a certain product and is having difficulty locating it.

There are legal reasons why this is the way it is, so from now on I think it would be best to refrain from using petstore names if you are discussing their conditions and policies. Another way to do it is you can say - a large well known petstore or a local petstore is doing this - and if you find a link on Rabbit.org or Peta that talks about then you can provide the link, or if you want to allow people to email you to get the name that would be fine. So, you can still discuss the petstores issues, but refrain from directly posting the name on any future threads.

Kokanea&Kahlua - it's okay to post that letter since this discussion has already started. But after this thread, we will have to refrain from naming petstores until I can discuss some legality issues of naming petstores with our lawyer. Where the line can be drawn - I know there is one, and our rules blocked out any lines just to be on the safe side. But I would like to have a little more freedom so we can safely discuss issues like this.

Oh I can see that you have the same problems as here in germany

Here's the letter I received, and Binky, if your lawyer says take it down, go for it, you won't offend me !! Do what you need to and thanks for letting us post in the meantime!!

January 25, 2008

Dear Ms. Caragannis,

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us regarding our test of dwarf rabbit sales in our stores. Your feedback is important to us and we're taking it seriously.

This particular test only involves about 25 of our more than 900 stores and is likely to hold at this level until we have more information. We conduct in-store tests to get a real-world view of all the issues related to the sale of a particular pet before we do anything more. During this test we're collecting additional data and information related to breeding, health and care, associate training, retention, customer satisfaction, adoption vs. sales, population and all other aspects related to sale of these pets. We carefully test concepts to make sure the best interests of the pet, the Pet Parent and our business are served.

We consider the test successful because of what we learned from it. However, we! failed to meet the business objectives we set, so, at this time, we?re not expanding the test and will not continue to sell dwarf bunnies beyond those already in or planned for our stores.

We share your passion for pets and want to assure you we'll do what's right for our Pet Parents and their pets. Thanks again for sharing your concerns with us.

Sincerely,
Christy Lee
Pet Safety Specialist,

Gotta love capitalism. *snorts*
I have a  (large petstore) in the city near me. The rabbit my daughter has came from the store. (She was our second rescue this year and, as much as I hated to put money in their pockets, we did it for the sake of the bunny.) The last time I went in I didn't see any rabbits, but I know that my daughter's cousin bought the one that was barbering her rabbit in the tanks. It was relegated to a tiny cage for weeks. Sadly it is probably still living in this cage at her home. (I have talked to them about giving bunnies their space, but this is a young child with parents who like to spoil. Not making much headway.)
I think that all (this large petstore's) small animals, not just the rabbits, are terribly cramped. I was wondering if they have separate runs for them in the back of the store for nighttime, like a vet's office would, but my hubby thinks not likely. The bunnies in particular seem so uncomfortable. It's so wrong to manipulate helpless creatures for the sake of a dollar!

Of course, my bun was abandoned on the road near our home with two other bunnies. So I can't say folks up here particularly think of an animal's welfare. This infuriates me.
Could someone post a link so I could find out which stores are part of this ban? I don't want to shop there if they can't treat the animals right. Where would I get my supplies otherwise though? Is there somewhere online that's reliable, conscientious and healthy?

(edited after I saw your post BinkyBunny...sorry I hadn't seen the second page of posts!)

I don't know about rabbits selling quickly at all.  I would not assume that because as I said above there is an adorable lop at our local pet store that has been there since July!  He's gorgeous.  It just kills me.