When you’re now a rabbit advocate

[Mimzy]

Does anyone else here ever feel like an annoyance or a party pooper when videos of a rabbit goes viral & it’s supposed to be funny but you can clearly see there’s dangers to the bunny in the video so you step in & say something?

Like that one of the black & white dutch rabbit bathing in the sink, that one irks me so much! It’s not cute! & people constantly share it to me because they think it’s adorable & that I’ll love it but I have to kindly tell them why it’s not funny.

I just saw another one of also a dutch rabbit jumping out from the top of it’s cage, it soared really high & fell to the floor. You couldn’t see if the rabbit was ok or not but the owner seems like a terrible owner. Cage was 10x too small, like I’m not even sure a hamster would have adequate enough room in it, I saw no hay, & I did see a water bottle but it was not attached to the cage. The cage was also on top of a dresser with the top door open so that the owner could record the bunny jumping out like it did.

Thankfully there were TONS of comments from people saying how many things were wrong with this video, but it’s so frustrating when you try to inform people of why an animal video is not funny & they make YOU out to seem like the bigot who has no idea what they’re talking about

[Bam]

I hear you on this. But all we can do is keep at it. Theres a difference if someone really nice but clueless, like a really old relative, sends you a “cute” bun picture, or if it’s someone that ought to know better. Then there’s that cathegory of people who like to rile you up. I have so little time for that. 

[jerseygirl]

I actually saw that video yesterday as part of a petition. The bun jumped unbelievably high. I don’t know what the comments were like on the original video or if the owner responded. So I know very little. I want to believe that maybe the cage is a travel cage/carrier? I have seen people bring rabbits and cats in these sort of cages at the vet.

I do think we need to be careful in how much we assume on such a limited snapshot. It happens a lot with photos also. If people are sharing something publically, I do think it is okay to ask some polite questions to find out more info. You could always contact them privately to ask questions.

 What really annoys me is when people go straight into attack-mode. It acheives nothing but mobilising an online lynch-mob. The OP goes into defense-mode and either clams up or attacks back in the same ugly manner. And nobody learns anything more about the animal they were concerned about and there is little chance they will now. 

This is a mild scenario: Just recently, I saw a short video on twitter of a kangaroo joey in a kitchen impatient for it’s milk that the person was preparing. A person commented right at the top that “kangaroos should NOT be kept indoors as pets!!” Fair enough. But this was not an indoor pet. I recognised the video. It was from the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs.
From what I can tell (from what is shared n their site and social media pages) these guys know what they are doing and have reared a lot of orphaned roos. They have photos and video of joeys hopping around indoors and also the same of them outdoor, receiving a bottle or bowl of milk. The joeys go on to live out their lives in an environment natural to them.
Anyway, as I mentioned, that scenario is mild compared to what usually goes down on social media. It’s just an example of what some people assumed from a <10sec video.

Like I said though, with the rabbit video, I do not know if the owner revealed more detail and the situation was as careless as people feared. Im in the dark on that one.

There are, of course, videos where it is indisputably clear it is abuse. Like that case with the teenage girls and a rabbit last year or the year before. That did result in animal control paying a visit, I believe. Im not sure how that came about, whether the video was reported on the hosting site, and then they report it to appropriate authorities.. Or if it was a case of them being recognised and reported by someone known to them. It still baffles me that people with harm an animal “for kicks” but then video it and share it around too.
We had a case here in Australia of some teens charged recently because of animal cruelty.

Personally, I have to limit how much of these sorts of things I read/see, for my own mental health. I don’t know how people that are professional advocates do it. It must be so disheartening and exhausting. I think Bladesmith mentioned he used to be an SPCA officer and had seen the worst of people. I shudder to think.

[jerseygirl]

Just a reminder when posting about incidents. (Mimzy, this is not directed at you or what you’ve posted. )

E. When Posting About Animal Abuse or a Heart-Wrenching Incident:
Though many of us want to help with animal welfare, or may want to share a painful loss, no one likes to be shocked with some horrible image that may be burned into their memory, so please be sensitive when posting graphic information. Whether it is something that happened to your animal or a news story that you want people to be aware of and help with, please follow these guidelines:

• Do not post graphic and disturbing descriptions or photos of a suffering animal and/or animal abuse directly in your post. You can provide links to a news story or to more information.

• Please post a warning at the top of your post when describing details in your post or posting links that will be disturbing when clicked on: Example of Warning to use: CONTAINS GRAPHIC/DESCRIPTIVE MATERIAL. THOSE WITH SENSITIVITIES USE CAUTION BEFORE READING FURTHER

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Wouldn’t call it a party pooper. There’s nothing wrong with educating people, and animal abuse shouldn’t be laughed at. It’s just that most people don’t know that it is abuse. It’s great to educate people because the unfamiliar is often underappreciated. The difficult bit is trying to keep the message as positive as possible, so people don’t close up. Instead of trying to focus on why certain things are abuse I like to show people how awesome rabbits can be, and how clever they are. Suddenly people will get that lightbulb moment: “Oh my, he’s so sociable and clever, and he even does tricks and funny jumps! It must be horrible for such a smart animal to be in such a small cage alone all day!”. It’s always best if people realise things by themselves, they’re more likely to pick up the message.

I also educate people a lot on how to treat people with a disability, especially if people do things which I find very offensive. People tend to fear the unknown and try to fill in the gaps with what they think is appropriate behaviour. Sometimes they feel awkward when I address them about something they did, but it helps to talk to them. Convince them that good intentions don’t always have good results, and explain why it’s so important to refuse unnecessary help. In the end they are a lot more understanding and often downright supportive. You can also see the message spread among store personnel and change the way they think about people with disabilities.

It’s awesome to be able to make these tiny changes in the world, same counts for educating people on rabbits. As I said to my neighbour: “It’s always great if people do their homework before they get a pet, so they can make a well-informed decision. I wouldn’t mind having a constant stream of visitors if it meant that rabbits would get a better life.”. With enough voices and good examples you can gently change the public opinion for the better, and I really think it makes a difference. So don’t fear educating people, because honestly we all need it. Especially the buns, they deserve so much more, and I see things getting better every year! Hurrah for knowledge

[jerseygirl]

The difficult bit is trying to keep the message as positive as possible, so people don’t close up. Instead of trying to focus on why certain things are abuse I like to show people how awesome rabbits can be, and how clever they are. Suddenly people will get that lightbulb moment: “Oh my, he’s so sociable and clever, and he even does tricks and funny jumps! It must be horrible for such a smart animal to be in such a small cage alone all day!”. It’s always best if people realise things by themselves, they’re more likely to pick up the message.

True. You can certainly introduce possibilities.

Like with the rabbit in the video. If someone were to ask “do you do agility with the bun? He’d be really good at it!”  “Or clicker training?  The Dutch breed is known to be quite smart”. It’s a way to hopefully start up a conversation with the owner.

[Deleted User]

Oh wow, yeah a friend sent that video to me the other day and I was obviously not impressed.

While I do agree that just attacking people doesn’t accomplish anything, those people clearly had little regard for the safety of the rabbit.

First of all, I would NEVER have a cage that small. I mean, that cage fit on top of a desk and there wasn’t even room for the rabbit to take more than one hop if it wanted to. Second, if I ever saw my rabbit falling from that height, I would not be laughing. I would probably cry and panic that they had broken a bone or worse… But those kind of people exist (unfortunately) who feel that animals don’t deserve to be treated well.

[Deleted User]

I literally had 5 people send me the video of the rabbit jumping from that height. No one could see the big deal in it and kept telling me to relax and that I don’t know the full story. But like, if that bunny was free roam, that cage would be on the ground with the front door open (not the top), and it would still be bigger than that dinky thing. That bunny could’ve gotten seriously injured jumping from that height. It irks me when people think bunnies are fine from that height because they’re good jumpers, which is so not true of every bunny, not to mention they aren’t cat and don’t always land on all fours.

The other photos and videos that bother me are the ones where the bunny is being tranced. When you say anything the owner is like well it was for 5 seconds for the photo. UGH! NO! NOT OKAY

[Sirius&Luna]

Yepp, people sent me that too. I just don’t get it, surely even if you don’t have rabbits you can see it’s not a cute video… Poor thing. I also saw some petition, apparently the owner said he would behead the rabbit? I can’t see how a petition would prevent that but….

[Deleted User]

Things like this make me lose faith in people

I remember seeing a post on facebook where a girl had a rabbit on her shoulder, and the poor thing looked like he was terrified to bits and holding on for dear life. So I made a comment that just said something like “your rabbit looks really scared, maybe you shouldn’t put him at that height”. Then I went about my business and a few weeks later I have a notification that someone “liked” my comment. So I went back to it and saw that this girl started FREAKING out on me, saying stuff like “he loves it up there, you don’t know anything, you’re probably a bad owner and if my rabbit ever met you he’d probably bite you cause you’re a b!tch”…. I was like uhhhhh wtf, ok. Long story short, I don’t do social media because I hate how ignorant people are and I’m not wasting my energy on trying to educate people who honestly do not care….

[Deleted User]

I’ve posted on here before about seeing someone selling a rabbit on gumtree and the selling point was that it liked having a bath, the picture was a terrified looking, soaked to the skin bunny. This really ticked me off so I messaged the number saying I thought they were being cruel to this animal and did they know they shouldn’t be bathed. The response I got back was something along the lines of “shut up, if I can’t bath my rabbit why do they sell shampoo”. I understand what is said about us not knowing the full picture and we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. But I feel like when people respond back like this we are proved right in what we first thought. If someone made a presumption about my bunnies I would like to think I would be able to come back with a response that explained my actions, gave a valid reason and not to just jump on the defensive. I’ve also seen on Instagram a rabbit being bathed and someone politely commented “make sure to dry bunny off carefully afterwards” the guys response was “quiet,will be done bye bye” to me this is unnecessary and I get the impression they know they shouldn’t really be doing it but want to anyway. Sometimes my kids like to look at Instagram with me and even my 5 year old son can identify when something isn’t quite right with how to treat an animal, it’s not rocket science. I think some people will always be ignorant and often by choice. I think they like to value themselves higher than animals

[Mimzy]

I was mostly shocked with the video & was mainly wanting to inform the friend who reposted it that a rabbit can cause itself serious harm by jumping like this. I did go & read comments to see if anyone had any back story on the video. I was taking them all with a grain of salt but someone had finally provided a screenshot from the owner to which he did say he would record beheading O_o I think he just bluffing, but I took this as he obviously doesn’t care & didn’t want to defend himself either.
Anyway, I only commented to my friend & said there were a few things concerning about it. I told him about how easily rabbits can break their backs just from jumping from someone’s arms. Thankfully he seemed to take the information well, but usually when informing people, they get defensive in the wrong way acting like the way BunNoob said that one girl reacted to her lol.

I used to think declawed cats were funny to play with, but later learned how terrible it is for them & now I’m completely against it. Would be so nice if more people cared to do research about animals & find out the truth rather than just choose to remain ignorant to these things :/

[Bladesmith]

I’ve mentioned before that, in addition to being an LEO at one point in my life, I was also an Investigator for the SPCA. I’ve seen enough cruelty to last me several lifetimes. And yes, since becoming owned by raddits, I’ve become a fierce advocate for them. And after all these years of experience, I find I have little tolerance for abject stupidity, and even less for intentional cruelty, real or implied.

So not that long ago, when I was in a pet supply store with Clover and some wag (It’s always some redneck looking male) commented that she’d make a big, tasty meal, it taxed my self control not to level him. Instead, I stepped nose to nose with him and informed him if he’d mind if I chopped his yappy little dog things (Obnoxious creatures making a racket and nuisance throughout the store) into one of several asian dog dishes I’d learned while overseas.

Old Irish saying, I’m told; “Tis many a man’s mouth has broken his nose.”

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Oh, I completely understand the sentiment Bladesmith!
It’s so rude if people make such comments about your beloved pet. Only to add “Uh, s jussa rabbit” when you call them out on it.

We’ve been getting a lot of these “Flappie jokes” while travelling with Breintje around Christmas time. It’s due to a popular Christmas song written by a famous Dutch comedian. On the first day of Christmas a little lad’s rabbit Flappie goes missing and his dad tells him to stay out of the shed. Only after they had dinner he finds out what the meat course was. On the second day of Christmas his dad goes missing and the lad tells his mum that she shouldn’t go into the shed…

We have to hear “Ey, Flappie!” or “Nice that you brought dinner!” at least 20 times during a single journey. Everyone thinks that they’re all oh so original and funny, well I have a couple of things to say about that… Bas wants to avoid a scene at all costs, so he begged me to just ignore these folks and let it go. Grrrr, difficult sometimes, I demand some respect for these awesome animals.

[Bladesmith]

Posted By Ellie from The Netherlands on 2/09/2018 9:13 AM

Oh, I completely understand the sentiment Bladesmith!
It’s so rude if people make such comments about your beloved pet. Only to add “Uh, s jussa rabbit” when you call them out on it.

We’ve been getting a lot of these “Flappie jokes” while travelling with Breintje around Christmas time. It’s due to a popular Christmas song written by a famous Dutch comedian. On the first day of Christmas a little lad’s rabbit Flappie goes missing and his dad tells him to stay out of the shed. Only after they had dinner he finds out what the meat course was. On the second day of Christmas his dad goes missing and the lad tells his mum that she shouldn’t go into the shed…

We have to hear “Ey, Flappie!” or “Nice that you brought dinner!” at least 20 times during a single journey. Everyone thinks that they’re all oh so original and funny, well I have a couple of things to say about that… Bas wants to avoid a scene at all costs, so he begged me to just ignore these folks and let it go. Grrrr, difficult sometimes, I demand some respect for these awesome animals.

Grrrr.  See Ellie, that would send me into a place I don’t need to go to.  Not just the callousness, but the profound lack of respect it shows for you and your beloved pet.  Grr. Snort grr.

Contrary to appearances, I’m NOT a nice person (Clover: “Don’t listen to him, he’s a teddybear.  With Blueberries.”), and some things just should not be put up with.  I’m sorry anyone has to tolerate insensitive dicks.  How does one say F off and die in Dutch, he wondered idly?

I’m grumpy lately.  Must be the insulin.  (Clover: “Sorry folks, he just started insulin therapy for his diabetes. He can’t share blueberries with me, and it makes him grouchy.  More blueberries for me, though!)

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

More blueberries for Clover…to quote Johan Cruijff: “Every disadvantage has its advantage.” Hope that your blood sugar gets stable soon!

We prefer to kindly wish cholera or typhus upon eachother instead of the international F off and die ^_^ We’re one of the few countries to swear with diseases.
With “Krijg de kolere, man!” you’re wishing someone a happy time at the crapper.

[Bladesmith]

I like the way you guys think!! “Have a hot steaming cup of Dysentary!”

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Call it West European punctuality… We don’t only want to wish someone an unpleasant ending, but we want to specify the details too ^_^

FYI: don’t be embarrassed about swearing every now and then: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/health-benefits-of-swearing_us_5a5e44a8e4b0106b7f65b3a6

“People Who Swear May Be Happier, Healthier And More Honest” 

I found this article after a friend of mine complained a bit about me “singing the hallelujah” so often when my back is acting up.

 

I also found this image online, thought it might suit your sense of humour ^_^

 

 

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