FOLLOWING on from Meghan Hindley’s article in today’s paper, March 15th, reference the ‘Concern raised on welfare of rabbits’. I am very pleased this has been written.

Admittedly I bought a bunny for my boys a couple of years ago without having much knowledge about them at all. I very nearly re-homed him as didn’t have the time they so truly deserve. I have a friend who works for the RSPCA and I asked her if she could take him. We had a discussion and we came to the conclusion that I should get him a friend as this would alleviate his loneliness and I wouldn’t have to spend as much time with him. I was happy with this as I felt bad about getting an animal that I couldn’t look after properly, so I got a rescue bun. We bonded them and they took to each other straight away. He was no longer a lonely bun.

I wish I had known this from the off. He is so much happier now. I have taken the responsibility of caring for them myself. I whole heartedly agree that parents should not buy a bunny for their children if they are not prepared to look after them themselves. Kids loose interest very quickly and will almost always never be bothered with them after a few weeks.

If you are thinking about buying your children a rabbit; make sure you buy a pair, or even rescue a pair from Kingston Mauward or other local animal shelter. Be prepared to look after the buns yourself. If you have the correct set up – i.e a large hutch (6 foot minimum. A bunny should be-able to stretch up tall, and do at least 4-5 hops in the hutch) a nice stretch of garden to run around in (you could build your own run or ensure that if free roam the garden is secure) then you are more or less good to go. You can purchase hay bales from a local farm – this is a heck of a lot cheaper that buying from pet shops, and you will always have a good supply of it. You can purchase large bales of sawdust from bigger pet suppliers – which again works out a lot cheaper than buying the smaller ones. As for cleanliness, line the floor of the hutch with lino so as to protect the wood against their wee (it is also easier to disinfect and clean!) leave it a few days and look to see where your buns are going to the toilet. When you have figured this out, buy a littler tray (a cat one from a supermarket is good enough) line it with newspaper, fill it with sawdust and pop some hay on the top and by the side of it (buns like to eat when they go toilet) pop a bit of dirty sawdust in the tray as well so they recognise that that is still the area they toilet in, your bun should then start to use the tray. This helps a lot when it comes to cleaning out.

Buns are great fun to watch when they run and binky around the garden. They can be loving, fun characters. Buying in pairs means that you won’t be as committed (although you will still have the hard work of making sure they are safe, taken to the vets, fed correctly, cleaned out etc) I hope this helps anyone thinking of buying a bun. Its hard work but well worth it.

Hopping mad bunny lover Weymouth