next door have a bunny, and i am worried about it

[piratecat]

They have a cover over the hutch, to keep out the elements, and for protection at night i am guessing.

Yet this cover has been on (its all over dark plastic) for months now. Whilst we have all obv been doing the whole winter thing, and not going out much I didn't really think about it too much. Yet the poor thing doesn't get uncovered, the hutch is really small too.

They just don't seem to bother with it. I can't say anything directly can i? I get on with them fine, and can see why they would protect the bunny but it gets no attention. my kitchen window looks out on the garden, and I am sahm, as is she, but I never see them do anything except bung a bit of food in there.

It must be pretty miserable for it.

I read somewhere (think it was the RSPCA) that something like 70% of domestic/pet rabbits in this country live in terrible conditions.

I used to have pet rabbits, and cleaned them out every day, plus they either had time in an outdoor run daily, or in bad weather let out in the shed. Lots of the petcare books said cleaning out once a week was fine.

I think part of the problem is that people don't realise that to really care for them properly they can be more trouble than a cat or other larger animal.

So, although this makes me really lots of people "care for" their bunnies in a similar way. How well do you know your neighbour? Could you perhaps ask her if your dcs could visit the rabbit and then innocently ask her when it gets out for a run etc etc.

well my dd speaks to her dd each day, and i always see themum each day at school.
the garden is small and very close to mine, and the fence between is low. It would be obvious, that I would nkow it doesn't have a run, or even a room with a view.

I think I shall prob look into the rspca thing tbh. Its just not right, but dont want it coming back on me, as the woman seems to be down on her luck alot, and i don't want to cause any grief.

hmm well to my neighbours my rabbit probably looked as though it was covered up.
if weather was bad I used to keep the cover down over the front of the hutch, but it was pulled away (not flat against the hutch) so that he could see out and get some air

and unless you're watching them all day then you can't really know that they don't get it out or anything.

i am playing devil's advocate a bit here I know, but be sure about everything if you're thinking about doing something about it

i swear, they dont go in the garden much at all, as we dont, becuase of the weather. the gardens are mainly lwan, quite small and soggy!.We always joke that when the weather gets better, we all seem to come out of hibernation and chat etc over the fence.

The bunny doesnt see anything, the plastic is wrapped tight around the hutch, with rope. Its a very small cage and the bunny cant stand on its hind legs, i only know that cos last year after they had had it a few months she herself commented on the cage being too small.

aww, that's sad
i'd def think about reporting to RSPCA

Very sad. Also at this time of year I think that depending on how sheltered the outside location is, it is advisable for the hutch to be in a shed (or similar).

You may be doing both the bunny and your neighbour by reporting it to the RSPCA. Maybe it is just too much for her to care for at the moment and she needs an incentive to get rid. Bunnies don't complain much so maybe she is just turning a blind eye and hoping she will soon have more time / money for it.

Do you think she would be able to tell it was you who reported her though?

doing them a favour - sorry

could she maybe have moved it to a hutch indoors, (garage or laundry room)?
My brother had 2 hutches one indoors and one out for summer days.

God, report her, that sounds AWFUL, poor rabbit

or could you bring it up with her frist? say "rabbits are a lot of work, are you sure you are able to handle it, blah blah"?

how sad and depressing, poor little thing

Psycho's hutch never had much activity... due to the bunnies deciding to move out and live under the house instead. How can you be sure there is a rabbit in there?

If you don't want to be direct how about saying you are thinking of getting a rabbit and wondered how she found having one.

morning, thankyou for the replies.

I sometimes hear the bunny scratching/banging, prob in sheer bloody frustration. When they got the bunny last year we talked about it alot, as I have had bunnies in the past, esp greatwhen I had two houserabbits, so she knows i like them etc...

If i did raise concerns to the RSpCA, i would have a good chat to them first before giving any address details, to get the lay of the land and whether they could confirm it would be annonymous.

This is a row of four small terraced/semis homes. I guess it would be difficult to pinpoint who exactly had made the call, as all homes have visitors who use the gardens as a main way of visiting, as we have a long path behind.

I can't ignore it, I have been hoping the cover would come off, even just for a day.

Has anything happened today?

Why dont you ask them if you can have it ?

we adopted a rabbit from simalarly bad conditions and he was lush and lived for ages..

maybe they are a bit ' out of sight out of mind' about the poor creature, by the sounds of it they don't really want it.

I don't want a rabbit atm! It doesn't seem like they do either, but its thier responsibility, so i rang the rspca today, and had a good chat.

have done it annonymously, and they will pass the info on. If the officer thinks it 'worthwhile' they will have a word, apparently a gentle word. The woman said sometimes thats all it takes, and they realise they a, can't look after it, or they b, realsie they aren't looking after it properly and might get some advice.

I know I could be found out, but my conscience has prevailed, cos its not fair on the bunny.

Oh poor rabbit!

It is no less cruel to keep a rabbit shut in a hutch like that than it would be to keep a cat in similar conditions. Rabbits are beautiful, intellegent, sociable creatures who need stimulation and exercise just as a cat or a dog does.

It makes me absolutely furious that there is this misconception that somehow it's okay to keep a rabbit alone, bored and unable to behave naturally. It's cruelty.

Plus, it's probably doing the rabbit permanent long term damage if he's unable to stretch up tall or jump about. What about his nails? What about his teeth?

One of my rabbits was a rescue who had been kept in similar conditions by a 'well meaning' family and although we did our best for him he suffered dreadfully with his teeth. Because he'd only ever been fed on rabbit food and no hay or straw or anything to gnaw on, the roots of his teeth had grown up into his tear ducts and his eyes always wept.

You did the right thing calling the RSPCA.

thanks, i don't feel clever, or happy about having to do it.

Its just its got noone else atm.