Mr McGregor

[PirateMother]

Do you think IABU. I took in a couple of rescue rabbits about 2 yrs ago. They have a hutch and a very large run. About 6 months ago they started digging burrows and sitting in them. Filling them in and then starting again. They didn’t run away. About 1 month ago they started running away. I caught them a few times but the kept on escaping.
It got increasingly difficult to catch them and in the end I stopped. I decided they clearly want to be out. Granted Mr McGregor or Mr Fox might catch them but surely that is the state of being a rabbit.
I’ve seem them around the village. They are always together and seem well.

I have had lots of complaints from neighbours accusing me of neglect and complaining that the rabbits hop around the fields and gardens. Cats do the same thing. No body complains about them.

Opinions please.
Should I set traps for them?
Should I just leave it and ignore the complaints (I live in a very, very small village BTW).

This is my first post. Just checking how it works.

Do you have dc who would be very upset to see remains of rabbit at the side of the road?

Yes I have 3 DC. They often see dead animals by the side of the road. No body likes that but then we don’t want them locked up if they are clearly keen to be out.

I was thinking Conor or Ewan.

Ewan seems to have finally ditched the wife in order to fully indulge his love of shagging other women. Conor is still swaggering around like billy big bollocks.

But apparently it's rabbits, so forget all that!

I say let them go! We had a rabbit who lived loose in our garden for a while after we stopped being able to keep her in her run, (also a digger!) then one day she hopped into the fields and lived there mostly, she would come back and see us occasionally, and we often saw wild rabbit / pet rabbit hybrids in the fields around us so I think she was popular with the local wild boys! (Probably not very good for the eco system I guess, but she just wanted to be free!)

I would feel bad locking up an animal that so clearly wasn't happy with it. Will they be ok in the wild over winter?

They will get eaten at some point. Years ago my neighbour had rabbits and allowed them to breed. They roamed the garden freely and oh how the neighborhood cats lived to visit. The babies were picked off one by one. It was quite horrific how blasé the neighbours were.

If you can't house them safely you should re-home them. They aren't wild animals.

They’re tame, like lambs to the slaughter .... catch them and house them properly

I think you should catch them and get them rehomed if you aren't willing to look after them properly.

They aren't trying to be free, they are just following their instinct to dig. They are imcapable of looling after thrmselves in the wild and will come to a sticky end without assistance.

I think you're being irresponsible and cruel tbh.

This is why I don’t think rabbits should be pets in the first place. It feels wrong to see them cooped up.

Domestic rabbits won’t survive for too long in the wild because they won’t have the same fear as wild rabbits. They will be seen as a meal for a fox/bird of prey/cat/dog/etc also I’m sure like other bunnies they won’t have much road sense. I would definitely try and trap them and rehome them if you feel you can’t look after them. I had pet rabbits for over 30 years & digging is what they do

I also think you are being irresponsible and cruel to let them live like that.

I’ve read that rabbits need lots of toys and stimulation. Maybe they would escape less if they had more entertainment at home?

How big is their hitch? If they’re in a shed or decent size hutch put a big box filled with tightly packed soil or sand. They’ll dig in that and will still be safe.

Also are they neutered? If not then you definitely need to keep them in. They’ll be shagging/ getting shagged by wild rabbits. The baby rabbits will be born without the colouring to keep them safe.

If they’re neutered and you really can’t think of a way of keeping them in their hutch and run (which is seriously not hard) then just let them run wild I guess. They will get killed/ run over at some point but if they seem happier it’s not really doing any harm.

All rabbits dig - that's why you're advised to have a wire base on their run so they can't escape

So it seems the consensus is to trap and re-home them. Thank you

Rabbits are pretty difficult to rehome.

Ewan seems to have finally ditched the wife in order to fully indulge his love of shagging other women

Shocking state of affairs, that. Hope the wife takes him for all he's worth.

As for the rabbits, since they were rescue rabbits, I think you have a moral duty to try to recapture the great-escape duo and rehome them if you can't be arsed with all the digging.

Anyone else got a duracell bunny add at the bottom of this thread? 🐇🐇🐇

The RSPCA said if they look healthy don’t worry. I’ve contacted a local rabbit charity to see if they can lend me some traps to capture them.

The RSPCA said if they look healthy don’t worry 😡

I have worked in the veterinary industry for over 20 years and this kind of attitude from certain animal charities really pisses me off. Generally the smaller charities/specific animal charities are much better.

I hope that your bunnies are caught safe and well 😊

Trapping scheduled for tomorrow. Found a home for them too. Happy bunnies.

Bunny rescue couldn’t catch them either 🐰

Where are they now then? What did you use to try and catch them?

They are still playing out. They have wild markings. We used towels, treats, sneaking up, trap cages.