rabbits not being looked after properly

[kittik]

Have never posted before, but thats not really relevant. My problem is, where I live (a kind of complex of houses where we all live fairly closely) there is a family who have two cats and two rabbits. They are a lovely family , cultured, educated, nice but seem to have a blind spot where animal care is concerned. The cats I'm not too concerned about because they seem okay but the rabbits seem to hardly ever get their bedding changed, are often without adequate food and often the water bottle bottle is empty.

The mother leaves the care up to the 14 year old daughter, who needs checking up on obviously. I have spoken to the mom quite often, about this in nice ways and more bluntly as its gone on and on (I heard she referred to me as the rabbit police) and have often stepped in to supplement their food/water because it upsets me to see them needing stuff. They are in a large run (very muddy currently ) and were left in a draughty leaky hutch over xmas with no straw, they were wet and cold. (I stepped in and waterproofed it).

So- what would you do? ignoring it is not an option for me. I would really like to give the rabbits away while they're out but perhaps it's a bit drastic.The point being, I have spoken about it to them till I'm blue in the face and I'm fed up!! I realise this is in the am I being unreasonable thread, I dont need reassurance that I'm not being unreasonable, I dont want to only post among animal lovers though.

my rabbits are outside, their hutch it so huge i wouldn't fit it anywhere inside!

i would be more foreful talking to your neighbour, reporting her would be the last straw, maybe ask if she would mind if you took more of an active role in caring for them

Tried to report to RSPCA on Sun when I went to my mum's and saw a rabbit outside in an uncovered hutch in -9 temperatures with very little bedding. Water bottle was frozen. Miracle it was alive tbh.

But as it was a communal flat garden and I didn't know exactly which flat the owners lived in (there are four flats in the block) they can't do anything.

rabbits are hardy creatures and do live outside in the wild

Oh poor things, rabbits are social animals, they need a lot of care.

Report it, thats all you can do.

I'm sure rabbits can be outside (as can guinea-pigs but ours are in at night/out during day) if their cage if sheltered, waterproof, insulated (plastic hutch cover and blamket/duvet) with lots of hay/straw.

These bunnies sometime have no water anyway.
And rodents have to eat pretty constantly to keep their digestion and teeth in condition. Rodents diet is fibre rich but low nutrients so they need loads.

The RSPCA website has a big list of animals basic needs. These don't sound like they are being met.

The owner might just re-home (and I'm sure the homes are over-run with bunnies) or 'release' them into the wild

Wild rabbits live underground in large groups, not exposed to frost.

Poor bunnies. Report the neighbours. You've given them numerous attempts to change their behaviour and they haven't.

I think the title of Rabbit Police is rather good actually, and certainly not to be scoffed at.

well i'm not thick and know how they live in the wild

but my rabbits do love to sit outside right near the front of their cages in the snow. they're hardly frozen i know the op is different but don't think it's healthy to bring rabbits in and out all the time

Thanks for all the help and interest shown. I will continue to monitor and then let the Animal Welfare know. I had to stop and think, okay is this REALLY neglect , before I take the step of reporting them because I'm sure they would be furious/ offended/never speak to me again. That was my problem, they are friends and yet have this blind spot, it's not so simple. I would love to print this out and show them- the fact that so many people have said report them surely would hit home? I also agree rabbits need a richer environment- I have put logs and cardboard boxes in their pen often.

I had a relative who I felt was mistreating her rabbit. The poor thing was locked up in a dog cage inside her house, for years on end, never allowed out and never saw the light of day.
Although my relative watered/fed/changed bedding regularly, I still felt the rabbit should have more to do than just sit there day in and day out looking at the same old scenery of the lounge and never going outside, not even in the spring/summer.

I told this relative that rabbits need mental stimulation, but relative did nothing. I stopped having anything to do with this relative at that point.

Some time later the RSPCA paid her a visit, she had obviously been reported and told her to let the rabbit out in a run during the summer. Relative didn't bother.

Sadly the rabbit died, having never seen a blade of grass or run around in the garden.

I wish the poor thing had seen the outside just once. If you can't look after an animal properly, give it to someone who will, even if that is a rescue centre.

This relative was in her 40's so a lot older than a 14 year old, but she honestly thought it was fine to keep a rabbit cooped up in a 2 ft x 3 ft cage 24/7 throughout it's whole life.

Don't expect the RSPCA to do much, sadly they don't appear to bother if there is anyone someone doing the bare minimum.

Should add that my relatives rabbit had no interaction of any kind and didn't even have any toys or tubes to run through. It had nothing whatsoever to do. It just lay there, pushing it's food bowl around, for something to do, and hopping from one end of the cage to the other. Much of it's time was spent laying down with a glazed expression on it's poor little furry face.

I know nothing about the needs of Leporidae but may I point out that rabbits are NOT rodents, and therefore comments about the nutritional needs of rodents, on this thread, seem likely to be irrelevant.

Those bunnies deserve way better! Either adopt them yourself (so the other family can 'visit' should they wish), report them to the local animal welfare group or take the sneakier 'stealth rehoming' option.

Rabbits can live outside, but they need shelter from the elements and some sort of insulation on cold days. They also need extra food on those days and constant checking that their water hasn't frozen. We used to put up old blankets around three sides of the run, so the bunnies were sheltered but still had air, light and so on coming in. If I ever had any this side of the border I'd probably think more carefully about bringing them indoors in the winter!

Point noted ragged if rabbits are not rodents (I did say in my first post I know nothing about rabbits) but I'm sure like guinea-pigs they have to eat alot of fibre-rich food (hay,vegetables) that they don't seem to be getting .
The OP says they don't have their bedding changed, inadequate food and empty water.
I'm sure, like my GPs they ear their beddding, any food and their droppings. It's not a diet like a dogs in small set amounts, it's constant grazing, low nutrient, high volume. If they don't have enough to eat, their teeth suffers, their bowels and digestion suffer, their behaviour would suffer as they'd be more inclined to fight.

So rodent or not, it is relevant- the nutritional needs.

southeat I read your post about your rabbit a few days back.He's got a choice of whether to sit in a warm hutch or at the wire. He chooses to sit there .
These rabbits don't have the choice of warmth by the sounds of it.