We've been turned down as adopters of rabbits (but not of children!)

[Somerville]

Apparently, we don't meet the criteria for suitable adopters from our local bunny rescue.
I don't know whether I'm more annoyed or amused!

DH is definitely annoyed... he wanted to do the right thing and get a suitable pair who need a new home, rather than exacerbating, in a small way, the trade for baby bunnies.

I've barely talked him down from sending a very arsey email attaching all the approvals we gained for him to adopt my older children recently.

We adpoted rabbits from The Rabbit Residence rescue. They did a home visit to check we really did have as much space as we'd said. The minimum space now specified is much, much more than a hutch. Look at the 'A Hutch Is Not Enough' campaign. Ours have a shed and a long tunnel (Runaround) connected to a big outdoor run.
Rabbits also have quite complex needs - they need three different types of food every day, for starters (hay, veggies, pellets)!

harshbuttrue exactly! People wouldn’t think twice about making changes to their home to make way for a child but would think it ridiculous to do so for a rabbit. There’s no problem with that but maybe just accept that a rabbit might not be for you. In reality, bunnies do tend to require some amendments (or they soon bloody cause them!)

I agree with everything you say too, Seahorse. You sound wonderful - especially to have kept two fluffs going for nearly a decade

For those concerned about rabbits being sold in pet shops, there are various campaigns out there targeting this. My area has seen some great success with the majority of the Pets at Home stores now refusing to sell rabbits. Unfortunately, online methods for selling such as gumtree and other pet shops are much more difficult and there’s a long way to go with those.

Every little helps though. As Seahorse says, fewer being bought will mean a reduction in breeding so if you are turned down for adoption, maybe just accept it’s not for you. You could always volunteer to help out with the rabbits at the rescue instead

maybe just accept it’s not for you.

Well except that DH is hardly going to take the opinion of the bunny brigade lady who met him for ten minutes over the actual facts. Which is that he has looked after rabbits successfully for many years.

You could always volunteer to help out with the rabbits at the rescue instead.
Seriously?!
They don’t want to unleash their bunnies on us, I don’t think we should turn up to volunteer!

What a crazy world we live in! You aren’t the first person to say how impossible it is to adopt a pet from a charity.

Plenty of people are good parents but not good "pet parents". I'm not sure why you'd be puzzled by this,

Not at all puzzled. Just find it amusing.

as surely you won't be planning to treat your kids and rabbits in the same way!

Of course we were, silly - all our kids sleep in hutches.

If your DH has looked after them for years then maybe the letter will help clarify why you were both turned down.

Still, there are plenty of rescues out there that would value your DH’s experience if he ever did want to volunteer

My rabbit loves playing in the garden with my cats (supervised obviously) I've had him about 6 years and he was about 2/3 When I got him rescued from a friends garden

I had a rabbit growing up and honestly it's so different being a grown up having one. As much as I love him I don't think ide get another I just don't have enough time to devote to him as he needs.

I got turned down for a car from cpl as we didn't have a communal back door (didn't need one none of those flats did)
So it would of been ok if I had to walk down a flight of stairs to open to back door when cat wanted to go out but not just open my front door?

I’m finding a toddler is on par with a rabbit. Two rabbits together... Jesus it was like being surrounded by small, devious children. They used to help each other be utter shits. I miss the furry sods though, my heart aches everytime I think of them.

At the end of the day OP no-one can stop you having a rabbit (or giving it a crappy life if you do). So just crack on. Or, alternatively, you could find out why you've been turned down and reflect on whether they've got a point.

Tortoises are my thing - another pet that's easy to care for badly. Getting tortoises from a tortoise rescue is really difficult because they have exacting requirements. They have exacting requirements precisely because tortoises have exacting requirements. We've had to do fairly extensive work to our garden and build a new shed in to happily accomodate 3 tortoises. Much easier and cheaper to buy them off Gumtree.

Yeah, I was kinda on your side for a while there OP, now not so much. You're coming across not so much amused but actually rather bloody annoyed if not a bit "how dare they turn us down?" despite the snotty witty snapbacks at other posters.

'Boot room' !!!!!!

I’m not annoyed at all, Elemental, on a personal level. I do find the situation of them begging on social media for people who want rabbits to come to them rather than buying babies a bit frustrating. We tried; which meant arranging for delivery of the rabbit accommodation a lot earlier than we would otherwise, and spending a fair bit of time on their form and the meeting, and then we’ve had a “no thanks” without explanation.

Hopefully we’ll get a letter with more info and of course if they raise a sensible point, we’ll rectify.

? It's just what some people call a utility room when they live rurally. It doesn't necessarily mean they have a mansion.

I got turned down from providing a permanent home for unsuitable to release to the wild hedgehog. Because I was going away for a weekend at Christmas (this was in may) when the hedgehog would be hibernating. Didn't stop the centre from sending me constant begging emails though. I just think some people at these places have power trips or want every home too meet exacting requirements which means rescues fill up.

You tried and you failed and yes, it's frustrating when animals need homes and you've invested in equipment etc but that sort of reinforces my point. You clearly thought it was a done deal, no way they could turn you down and you'd be getting a rabbit. Now it sounds like no matter how sensible a point they raise it somehow won't be quite sensible enough for you. Sorry, but underneath the rather forced "I'm so amused", I'm still getting a "this kind of thing doesn't happen to people like us" vibe.

Good luck though.

Sure your DH has looked after rabbits successfully for years. Doesn't mean he does it properly. Animals deserve to be happy.

To be honest, hutches are rarely appropriate for rabbits - they should be house pets in my opinion like cats and dogs. They're just as trainable and deserve the space considering how much they cover in the wild!

crunchymint Not sure why you’re so certain I couldn’t make an animal happy. But whatever dude. Peace.

I'm still getting a "this kind of thing doesn't happen to people like us" vibe.

Well than you’ve got my ‘vibe’ wrong, Elemental. I try not to live my life in expectation of disappointment or frustration. But my family is far from immune from things not working out as we’d wish; indeed, we’ve had more than our fair share.

What size is the accommodation? Does it have a secure run attached to it?

Its a bit of a light-hearted thread, with a serious side as well. Not sure why the OP is getting a hard time but then I rarely am. She just sounds a nice person who cares about animals and is a bit bemused by it all.

I'm sure some nice Mumsnetter will come along in a minute and accuse her of being a bad parent or a goldigger or fat-shamer sometime soon....

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