To be worried about the school rabbits? WWYD?

[lottieandmia]

Dd's school acquired two very cute little rabbits recently. She has been very keen to sign up to take them home to look after for the weekend so today we collected them for the weekend.

I'm really shocked to see that they spend pretty much their entire lives in a tiny living space which does not allow them to move around or stretch out. My guinea pigs have a much bigger cage than they do. The rabbits cage allows them to only do one hop from length to length (if that)

We're animal lovers and I'm very worried about them. So much so that I'm willing to buy them a bigger hutch to donate to the school.

In my situation what would you do about this? We have never had rabbits but I do know they are intelligent, complex and are often rehomed due to a lack of understanding about their care needs. What would you do?

Good new OP, you're doing really well. I hope the head sees sense.

Genius ideas Verbena. No one in the 270 posts before yours thought of them.

Now, here's a novel idea, I'm hoping it catches on. READ THE BLOODY THREAD. Even just the OP's posts would be a start.

Google rebonding bunnies. Best suggestion I've been given is to put a bit of lavender oil (dilute, not neat) on their fur to make the smell the same, then take them for a drive in a cat carrier. Shared experiences make close bonds...

I'm glad they've accepted the hutch.

How about an update on this? Are you going to name the school or get the RSPCA involved?! Everyone has expressed serious concern and taken the time to give advice. This is animal abuse and needs to be stopped. The rabbits need to be re-homed with people who know how to take care of them asap.

Well done OP on everything you've done so far. Fingers crossed that the head uses his brain and sees sense. And thanks for the frequent updates.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2057963/Keeping-pets-at-school-is-cruel-RSPCA-warns.html

www.peta.org/teachkind/humane-classroom/whats-problem-classroom-pets/

Good op!
If he doesn't put them in the new hutch id tell him itself a breath lfbthe welfare act and you will contact the rspca and the governers ( which you shoukd do anyway)
This head is a complete twat

In my second email I did say that I had been informed it was a breach of the animal welfare act. I've not heard from him since.

What good will naming the school do? It will also out me and my dd.

RSPCA refused to do anything - they say they have so many cases of extreme animal abuse that it has to be extreme for them to step in. Sad as I think this is extreme

I'm going to post the response I received from the RWA below because it's really very helpful. Nice to know I have back up from her:

'
'Well done with all of that.

We do hear of one or two school rabbits every year and it is just incredible to think that Head Teachers think that welfare has not moved on at all, and that this is still acceptable.

They do need to think about this more thoroughly, as you say, vaccinations, neutering, vet bills, do they have the budget for that, and the insurance or time for staff to take them to the vets? The risk of ill health when their diet is changing every weekend, and they are subjected to so much stress is high. Who is actually responsible for these rabbits? How are they going to control disease? What if they pick up VHD2 and then bring it back to the school for children to take home to their own pet rabbits? What are they going to do when they hit maturity, are entire, and they fight. Even more likely if they are in a horrible small hutch at weekends. They are not meeting any contemporary welfare standards, how can they justify that? What is it they are trying to get out of this for the children, because they are just setting a really poor example.

I would suggest I e-mail the Head, with your photo, and politely point out all of the above and try to establish what their logic was, and then in the first instance try to work with them on a suitable outcome for the rabbits. (This would involve the care taker being trained and checking on them every weekend, not them being farmed out in unsuitable housing and subjected to unnecessary stress, or someone else being trained and given keys to get in.) If we can not come to an agreement on that then we will suggest that we find a new home for them. If they will not work with us then we will have to go down the route of complaining to the Governors and the LA.

Are you happy with that suggestion?

What is they are feeding the rabbits now? Hopefully they have lots of hay and they are not on a muesli diet, but a good pellet like Burgess Excel? Are they kept inside or outside at school? Do you have a photo of their usual enclosure? I presume they are locked in the hutch over night?'

Well done op! Rabbit welfare by stealth :)

You're doing a great job. I'm glad you've not been swayed into any dramatic gestures or frothing pointlessly at the mouth!

So much better to be pleasant yet firm and irritatingly unmoving. I hope there's a way for the head teacher to come out of this with ego in tact, as it seems likely he'll resist any threat to his status. Annoying but useful if you can give him a way of coming out of this looking good, rather than having to back track... perhaps you can offer excuses / a positive spin on it which he can take and run with eg, link the hutch size to 'now they're grown up, the situation has changed. Bigger rabbits will need bigger spaces etc' or 'there's a wealth of new understanding which has been discovered so recently, wouldn't it be great to take the lead on this and create a centre of expertise around small animals and the new understanding of their needs // great to be responsible for pupils to take on a whole new understanding of small animals and their needs, & become champions of animal welfare and social conscience' blah blah blah! Too tired to make brain work but I hope you get the general idea!

Good luck again, you're doing so well.

I think this is important as it will influence all of the children in the school into believing this is how animals should be treated.

That was good from the RWA, did you ever hear back from the Blue Cross on what on earth they were thinking?

No, I haven't heard anything from Blue Cross

I've had an email from Jolleys pet stores, asking me to vote for a charity to receive money. Having read this post, I voted for Rabbit Welfare !

You've done all the right things OP , I think I'd be tempted to ask for this thread to be removed in case anybody recognises you ( it's quite a unique situation) and perhaps just update on a new thread when and if a result occurs .

I think if I get the thread removed then other people won't have the benefit of the knowledge that has been posted here. I myself have learned a lot from this in the last few days.

Unfortunately the rspca are shit for this exact reason, they don't care.
Id simply email again stating you will be contacting the rspca, ( he doesn't need to know they're not interested) the governors and you will be going to the papers.
He wont want people knowing this.

This is why i don't bother with the rapca. In 20 years they have simply got worse.
Any injured animals i take to sanctuaries. They are appalling. I refuse to donate to them.
Their donation adverts make me livid

Kali, I've left it with an officer from Rabbits Welfare for now. She is going to email the school and try to get them to see that the current arrangement won't work especially in the long term. She said that if they won't do anything we'll have to go to the governors and the LA.

No , don't name the school , you don't need that kind of aggro from them .

Excellant response from RWA.

They know rabbits.
They know what they need and the common pitfalls that rabbit owners encounter when they don't read up.
Rabbits are hard work. They are complex. They need an owner to know them well and look out for them. Animals like this hide illness.
There is lots that can be done to prevent problems.

And people who say (like your HT might do) "Well in my day they had a hutch and a few dandelions" ...well now we know that won't do.

There is so much information online at the click of a button. No excuse for not finding out.

Interesting to see what the School Governers and the LA would make of it though. Good example (not) to set to the pupils. Impulse buy living animals and not take their welfare on board.

Good going lottie here's hoping for a good outcome for these little chaps/chapesses

It's a good thing I have a friend working at the school, otherwise I wouldn't even have known they used the hutch!

That's fantastic op!
Thankyou for caring so much, not many people would
You're a lovely person

To those who have messaged me about this thread outing me, a few people I know in RL have actually recognised me but I'm going to leave the thread up and just post under a different user name in the future because I've used various names in the past and I think this thread may help people who are considering getting a rabbit to realise that they are high maintenance and sensitive animals and shouldn't be taken on lightly.

I've just heard from Blue Cross.

The representative absolutely did not endorse the tiny hutch and told the head that the rabbits wouldn't be able to lie down or stretch. They were keen to be clear that they do not endorse rabbits being kept in such cramped condition.