I feel like everyone on every forum Ive gone to has rescued their bunny either from a shelter or another home situation.  I got my Lilly at a Petland (previously unowned).  Is that bad?  Should people not buy petstore bunnies and instead buy rescue rabbits?

The only reason I ask is because I really don't know which is better!!  What happens to the buns at the petstores?  Shelters I know euthanize them, right, do petstores do this too?  I am confused.. I am starting to feel like maybe I should have bought a bunny from a shelter instead cause everyone else did..

So.. If I were to get another bun.. what should I do.. Im not considering getting one until way in the future.. since I can not financially support more than one at the moment.. but you know..

Posted By LillyBear on 01/04/2007 5:38 PM
lol Anita. Though she looks very cuddly, she is only so when she chooses to be, and most the time she is crabby and wants nothing to do with being cuddled! Thank you though!

.. I can see why you call her "Bear".  We are lucky that Sable is a cuddle bun.  He lets me pick him up in some situations though most of his free time cuddling is on his terms only.  Sometimes he even flops in my lap when I'm stretched out on the couch.

As for what others have posted regarding pet store buns I just wanted to add that we had a good experience with SuperPet in that the lady caring for the bunnies has a free-roaming house rabbit of her own and gave us good advice.  She showed me how to handle him, showed me how to check his gender and though she admitted she couldn't be 100% certain rightly identified him as a boy.  I'm also happy to say that all of the advice she gave has been echoed on these forums so I feel a bit better that at least the buns in that store are being cared for by a knowledgeable person.  I have never seen tiny helpless babies in there either.

As for what happens when they are unsold, I'm thinking of inquiring into that and perhaps lobbying them to start dealing with rescues instead of breeders.  I believe they are currently the only pet store in our area that deals in rabbits.  Will let you know what I find out.

What actually happens to the unsold pets?  It depends on where you live and what the regulations are there, and the agreements made.  But my understanding is that some go back to the breeder to be euthanized, or rebred, or sold to medical testing labs. I have also heard of the snake food issue.  I haven't done enough research to know who and where and what the numbers are.    You can do a google search to find out the details.  When I do this, it just breaks my heart, and I usually save the search for another day.

Many shelters euthanize, most rescue groups do not.  Most of the time the rescue groups are saving the 11th hour animals.   Shelters have different regulations in regards to how many days, and how many animals.  

Ultimately if everyone would take care of their animals like you do, then shelters would most likely only be housing lost and found, as well as any animals in transition due to a tragedy like their owners death.  But most animals are just abandoned.  Also, if  people would only go to shelters now to adopt animal companions,  then the numbers to euthanize would most likely go down.   

Being euthanized because the animal is unwanted is sad, whether it never had a chance at a good life  because it wasn't sold at a pet store, or because it was abandoned at a shelter.   But at least if breeding came to a halt until the numbers of abandoned animals were under control, then maybe that would help some.   But that will never happen, so we just do what we can.  And part of that in my opinion is to adopt instead of buy.

Now with that said, there is no way I can look down on anyone for not knowing.  And I also don't want to demonize breeders.  People are ultimately responsible.  Even people who have gotten their bunnies from rescues can abandoned them too.   There are very caring responsible breeders out there.  I mean, geez, my first bunny came from a knowledgable caring breeder and she was the one that originally directed me to HRS for more information, and that started me on the road to rescue.   I think now, how did I not know, but really unless you are involved, unless you really hear about it, or consciously seek out  the information out, then how would  you know the how serious it really is.  I mean everyone knows we have shelters, but  many times it's just like other things in life - we know a bit about them, but unless something really happens to involve us, then sometimes we just don't know the real details.  

For example, I knew about dog, cat, rabbit rescues, but I was amazed to find out about all the other animals in shelters and rescue groups - lizards, snakes, birds from finches to exotic expensive parrots, guinea pigs, goats, chickens...the list goes on.   I remember when I was transporting a huge injured iguana from animal care and control to a reptile rescue group.  I thought, there is every kind of animal available!  No one has to go to the a pet store or breeder with so many types of animals in need.  I just never knew!  So I totally understand how others don't.

I mean look at all of the things in the world that beg for our awareness - cancers, illnesses, poverty, starvation, global warming... the list is endless!   We get involved with things that either touch us emotionally, or actually affect our lives in a direct way.  

Though I wish people would no longer get their pets at pet stores, what I really wish is that more people would just make a lifetime commitment to their animal companion. And it sounds like that is what you are doing, so in that respect, you are not feeding back into the cycle

Ultimately, you have to do what is best for you.   But if that includes adopting next time, there are many positive things about adopting a bunny.  1.  Usually there are so many personalities to choose from, and the rescuers will be able to guide you to the one that would best suit you.   2.  Most are already spayed/neutered.  3.  You save two lives.  The bunny you adopted and the one that will take its place when you free up space for another to be saved from euthanasia.

Anyway, the best thing you can do is what you are doing.  Giving a loving lifetime commitment to your bunny.    If everyone did what you do, then the rescue problem would be less of an issue.  

We rescued our first, Hazel, off the street. She was a tiny baby bun, hopping along the gutter with 4 other siblings, likely disturbed in their nest and run off. She had a broken leg and couldn't run, so she was the only one "rescued" by my brother-in-law's housemates.
They actually just kept her in a box in their room, full of smoke, so we rescued her from them and brought her home, took her to a vet, and cared for her. Well, that was 4 years ago, and she's now our little princess, loved to pieces and loving us right back.



This is Hazel, at 3 1/2 weeks old.

Our second bunny, White Chocolate, was adopted at an adoption event organised by the House Rabbit Society at a pet store. She had been in and out of the local shelter, and in foster, a few times, and was "on death row", about to be put down. Well, my husband just couldn't let that happen, so she became my daughter's bun . Her choosing, she bonded with my daughter, and is now a real "mommy's bun", never bites or lunges at her, trusts her completely.... to the rest of us she was "Atilla the Bun" , though she's a lot better now.

My bunnies are so important to me! I miss them when im not with them, worry sick if we got on vacation and they stay with their "grandparents."  We have no children yet so my buns are my children. They are spoiled rotten, have free roam of the house and get all the luv we can give them. My husband said he never thought he would have "fuzzy animals" in his house. lol But he luvs them so much too, its so cute to see him in the floor playing with them.

The rabbits at the pet store break my heart. I would take them all home with me if i could.  I got both of mine from a pet store because i had no idea there were rabbit shelters. I just thought only cats and dogs were at the shelters.

Right now we have two rabbits and two hedgehogs. My husband has promised me once we move into a bigger house i can have more rabbits.

The water meter reader lady was at our house this week and when she came in Carrera was in the dining room. She was so fascinated with her and stayed a few minutes asking questions. She couldnt believe that Carrera was litter trained and actually goes to her upstairs bedroom to go potty. lol

It's good that the attachment thing is finally working.  The rest of the stuff though is good info for us to keep correct these ongoing compatibility problems.   We have a third party group that does our forum, and we are dependent on them for improvements and upgrades.  Another upgrade has recently come out, and so we'll see what happens when we download it.  We always hope it will solve all of the problems.  Most of the time it solves some "behind the scenes issues, that keep things running smoothly, but it isn't something that users can see.  

This compatibility problem has been an issue for many users, and so I know they are working on it..

Right now the webcams are in beta, and they have only been tested  with IE, and work only with IE that we know of.   We are working on that too!