to steal my housemate's rabbit?

[igetmorelovefromthecat]

No...not that kind of rabbit...get your mind out of the gutter!

Serious question. My housemate has a rex rabbit, that is supposed to belong to her 7 year old daughter. The daughter doesn't give a shit about it and maybe gets it out/cleans it out every month or two. It doesn't even have a bowl for its food and just gets handfuls of rabbit food chucked in its dirty straw every 2 or 3 days. It doesn't have a proper hutch, it sits in a tiny little handmade hutch which is about 18 inches long, in a dark shed, all the time. It really upsets me that the poor thing lives like this and I have even gone as far as telling my housemate that either she sorts the poor bugger out or I will take it to the RSPCA. After I had that conversation with her she got her dippy mate to make a handmade run for it, which is crap and there's no way the hutch could actually fit onto it, so the rabbit doesn't actually use it.

My housemate has now kind of moved into her boyfriend's caravan in a field a few miles away and last time I saw her she told me she was going to pick the rabbit up today and take it up to the field and try and get the run sorted for it. But even if she does that as soon as the weather changes it will be back to living in its shitty little box all winter.

Now, a good friend of mine who is an animal lover has offered to have the rabbit. She has a big hutch and run, a secure garden that the rabbit will be able to run around in, a two year old who adores rabbits and is desperate for one, and my friend has said she will get another rabbit to keep it company so it has a friend.

So, I guess it's obvious where the rabbit would be better off, but the question is, do I ask my housemate if my friend can have the rabbit (I am pretty sure she will say no, as her daughter will kick off and when she kicks off she gets what she wants to keep her quiet). Or just take the rabbit and deal with the wrath of my housemate when she finds out?

" a two year old who adores rabbits and is desperate for one, "

this means nothing tbh.

but i agree with you the rabbit is't being cared for. i wouldn't steal it but inform teh rspca of it's living conditions. or perhaps offer to take the rabbit off your friends hands?

Yes I realise the 2 year old may lose interest in it but even if she does my friend is animal crazy and already has chickens, rats etc that all get attention so she would make sure that she gave the rabbit fuss even if the 2 year old didn't.

I'd just take it and give it away then pretend it must've escaped tbh. Your house mate sounds horrid :(

Methe - I know that would be the best solution but I have a 7 year old of my own who would be involved in operation rabbit rescue and would be very likely to spill the beans to her friend....

I would take it and say it must have been stolen. Doesnt sound like she would really give a shit.

I really do think it is bloody cruel to keep rabbits in hutches.

Do what methe said.

Yeah take it, say it ran away

Where do you live?

offer to take it off her hands? i dont see why that wasn't your first plan of action rather than being sneaky. if she says no then tell her you have no choice but to report it to rspca.

Tell her you will take it and if she says no you will phone the RSPCA. (then phone them if she says no!)

I agree squeakytoy - I hate any animals living in cages, especially cages which are not big enough to even move around in.

Rabbits don't need bowls. It's much more interesting for them to forage for their food on the hutch floor as they do in the wild. This is recommended by the animal care experts that I work with. The hutch should be cleaned more often though.

Somerset Methe

Steal it- maybe say you saw an old man mumbling About rallit bie. :o

I would rather be straight with her than be sneaky and lie about it but my worry is that she will say no just to avoid her daughter having a meltdown. A few months ago a friend who had a lonely guinea pig and a nice big hutch and run asked if she could borrow the rabbit and my housemate said no.

Sorry for all the typos :o

... sorry i think the fox got it ....... (knock over the hutch )

Will she agree for your friend to have it if you buy it off her? I wouldn't want to leave an animal living in a horrible condition, though my conscience would not feel at ease stealing it either. If she won't let you take the rabbit then report her to the RSPCA (and then pick it up from there when they take it away from her). This animal deserves a decent quality of life

The hutch is inside in a very secure shed so can't really see how a fox could 'accidentally' get it!

so if she says no then call rspca and tell her you are doing it.

It's a no-brainer. Get the poor rabbit out now. The moral aspects of removing it pale into insignificance in comparison to the morals of allowing the rabbit to be neglected and abused.

Not sure DizzyKipper, my friend has said she will give me a tenner to give to my housemate for it. But it all comes back to to her daughter getting what she wants, and what she wants is her pet rabbit, even if she never goes near the poor thing. So I am wondering if a better approach might be to ask my housemate if my friend can borrow her rabbit as she has a lonely rabbit at hers, but my housemate is welcome to have it back at any time (I am pretty sure she would never actually bother getting it back).

Well if that approach is more likely to succeed then try it. If all else fails though go to the RSPCA to make sure it IS removed, you'll feel very bad if you don't when it dies.

There is a debate about this?

You get the rabbit out now, that's appalling conditions for it to be living in.

Not really a debate rhondajean, don't worry I am on a mission to sort the poor rabbit out, but I guess for the sake of domestic harmony I don't want a huge row with my housemate over it.