This is a bit grim - dead pet rabbit body problem

[HoppityBun]

I have lived with houserabbits for many years and my last sadly died a fortnight ago. Seven of the eight rabbits that I have lived with in this property have been buried in the garden without any problem, ever. The last one, the eighth, was PTS and buried on Saturday 17 August. To my dismay, this last Friday, I found his body had been dug up and was on the lawn.. The hole I had dug, was really, really deep and I have never had this problem before. Perhaps, fortunately, his head had disappeared so I am just dealing with a body.

I put it back, covered him up covered it with more pots and whatnot and you will not be surprised to know that his body was on the lawn again today. Now, I’m not upset about this. I loved him daily but it is only a body -apologies if this offends anyone but it is what it is, in my view. The question is: what do I do now? I am absolutely not going to put him in the black bin to be taken away with the refuse on collection day. On the other hand, I am perplexed and feel a bit of an idiot.

It seems obvious that I should try a new hole somewhere else where there is no tantalising smell but the ground is very, very hard because we have had no rain for ages. I can of course get the hose out. The soil is quite sandy.

I do have an Eco liquid which is an enzyme all purpose liquid- Agriton effective microorganisms (the stuff that bokashi is made of)– I have thought of putting his body in a box and soaking it in with this stuff until it is more decomposed.

This is the first time I have had to deal with this problem, though I’ve read about pets getting dug up, which is why I dug deep- far deeper than for the others. I will not be having any more pets (too heartbreaking) so, fortunately it will be the last time I will have to deal with this. I am assuming it’s a fox doing it, or a large cat.

He was a dear rabbit - they all were- and I want his body in the garden. He’s too decomposed to hand back to the vet and ask for a cremation.

Apologies if I seem hard hearted. I’m really not.

Do you have some rocks?
I'd put rabbit, then rocks, then earth, then more rocks. I'd also consider putting him in a plastic tub before burying.

Sorry for your loss

Yes, I put heavy stuff on top but the critter kind of dug in sideways. The problem with a plastic tub is that I do want his body to decompose into the ground, and I think if it’s in a plastic box, it will just turn into a slurry that won’t go away. Thank you for your condolences

It was the decomposition that was the reservation with the plastic.

I hope you find a solution.

My guess is that as well as blocking physical access you should try to reduce the odour which is attracting the graverobber. So perhaps wrapping in a biodegradable plastic might help - 'hide' the body for a while but eventually it'd break down. And/or a box with no lid placed over the top might help?

Why not put it in the bin?

Round where I live there are plenty of foxes, so anytime I had a dead pet (bird, fowl, rabbit) I just put it outside in the back garden and it was gone the next day. Might as well do some good for another beast now it's anyway dead.

Well it won’t do an animal any good if it goes in the bin. The reason why I don’t want to is that I loved him dearly and I still do. It gives me some consolation to have his remains around, with the others. I do not want to send his little body off to the municipal tip in the refuse lorry. I could not bear that.

His body hasn’t all gone, though, that is the thing. As I wrote, it has been dug up and left on the lawn. Minus head. Twice. Hence my problem and hence my question. I’m not going to just leave it there as a running buffet, not least because of the flies: which were what tipped me off in the first place about what had happened.

Yes I think it must be the odour. Remarkable really as he was at least 2 feet down. I put a massive flower put over and several more surrounding it. But that’s no match for whatever is digging. The soil’s so dry and sandy. Thank you. It’s a campaign, of sorts.

I would leave him in a hedge at the back of the garden. He will soon be dealt with by the powers of nature and any smell or flies will only last for a short while. Sorry for the loss of your bunny.

Name changed as possibly outing.

I feel for you, I had 8 rabbits all of which are buried in my garden. None of them were ever dug up, though the last 3 died when a predator got in and removed all their heads. Awful isn't it.

Might be a bit of a grim suggestion but I would try triple bagging/sealing up really well and putting in the freezer. When fully frozen, the body will be hard and won't smell as much for a bit of time atleast. Maybe you could also put them in a different area?

Thank you. I would do that but the drawers in my freezer are full! Definitely a different area this evening.

This is going to sound horrible so I apologise
Apparently mens urine deters foxes. Is there a man in the house who could bottle some to sprinkle around the grave to overpower the smell?

Unfortunately not! And I feel that I don’t quite know my neighbours that well. I could ask a friend’s brother in law, though. Perhaps I’ll start with my own. Intriguing

It isn’t too late to get your rabbit cremated and you don’t need to go via the vet. If you don’t want to cremate him, I think you could just try again but a deeper and bigger hole, completely surround his body with rocks, and go over the top with putting bigger and heavy objects over the grave. If I was facing this issue I believe I would take the body out to the woods, and put under a thicket but I understand you want him in your garden.

To be honest I don’t think burying pets in a garden is a good idea. I think it’s quite grim if the house is sold and the new owners find bones of deceased pets. As a pp suggested, under a bush then nature will take care of the rest.

I meant to include this www.pcsonline.org.uk/page/cremations

Just wanted to echo that it’s not too late for cremation. We would be happy to take him at our surgery. Wrap him up if you prefer, but it’s not a problem to cremate him at any stage. I’ve had pets at all stages of decomposition, and all sorts of severe injury.

I would probably put it in the bin......

Of course you want him buried, I can fully understand that.
As someone who has had a garden full of rabbit and cats' bodies i sympathise.

Any chance of a large paving slab laid on top ?

thank you ❤️ I had the idea of planting snowdrops over the top so put him under the grass path, where he used to sit in the evenings. Completely forgetting that as it’s a path I’d be walking over him. So the whole exercise is becoming a comedy. Honestly given the tenacity so far, unless it were the size of a C16 memorial slab, whatever it is would get under it. Funnily enough, it’s been quite reassuring to see him again, what’s left of the dear boy.

Y s that’s already been suggested and I’ve explained why I don’t want to

I had no idea: thank you and I might do that. I’ll ring them tomorrow

Maybe a wooden box? it would eventually decompose into the ground with him, unlike plastic

Yes might do. I’ll have a look around. At the moment I’m thinking of taking the advice to ask my vets to cremate him

I have no suggestions but I completely understand why you wouldn't put a beloved pet's remains in the bin or leave it out for animals. My house rabbit wasn't looking well yesterday and I dreaded getting up today and finding him dead. The little blighter is a lot brighter today eating his corn on the cob! I'm sorry for your loss, they have a way of getting under your skin don't they!

Search Amazon for 'fox and wildlife repellent', it's a powder or liquid you make into a solution and spread around the area to deter foxes.
You need to re-apply but if they stay away for a couple of weeks, hopefully, they won't try again.
I'm assuming that's who's doing this sacrilege in your garden: foxes.