Despite being the third most popular pet in the UK, rabbits are among the most abused and neglected. Too many spend miserable lives confined to a hutch, alone and with little or no space to exercise.
Neglect is the most common type of animal cruelty.
Care to guess what the world's most abused animal is? In terms of sheer numbers and the routine suffering inflicted on them, it's got to be the chicken. 50 billion chickens are raised for meat every year, with around 5 billion more kept for egg production.
Many Rabbits Suffer in Pointless Experiments
More than 148,000 bunnies are abused in U.S. laboratories every year. Rabbits used in experiments are kept inside small cages and never get to see sunlight or breathe fresh air.
Bunnies can easily be attacked by another animal or even get taken. Many suffer and die all alone when they're left outside. Since it's cruel to keep animals in cages, every rabbit should be allowed to live indoors and have the run of the (bunny-proofed) house. After all, they're part of the family, too!
Rabbits aren't “starter pets”—they're high-maintenance, long-term commitments. While healthy adult rabbits will typically use a litterbox to do their business, they do a lot of business—and you will have to keep their box clean by changing it at least every other day.
Despite being the third most popular pet in the UK, rabbits are among the most abused and neglected. Too many spend miserable lives confined to a hutch, alone and with little or no space to exercise. And around 67,000 rabbits a year end up in rescue centres.
Australia has had a problem with European rabbits since their introduction to the continent in the late 19th century. Now, it is estimated that approximately 200 million feral rabbits inhabit Australia.
On occasion we see rabbits that experience a trauma and seem perfectly fine — but always monitor a rabbit very closely for any signs of problems. If your rabbit has any bleeding, difficulty breathing, lameness, or change in appetite or fecal production, it is best to have a veterinarian evaluate your rabbit.
Most common victims
The animals whose abuse is most often reported are dogs, cats, horses and livestock. Undercover investigations have revealed that animal abuse abounds in the factory farm industry.
Animal cruelty involves gratuitously inflicting harm, injuring, or killing an animal. The cruelty can be intentional, such as kicking, burning, stabbing, beating, or shooting; or it can involve neglect, such as depriving an animal of water, shelter, food, and necessary medical treatment.
This includes cetaceansMarine mammals such as whales and dolphins.1, primates, elephants, bears, and big cats. These animals are more likely to suffer because they have more complex needs that cannot be met, or even approximated, in captive establishments.
In over 70 percent of the 50 states, the most commonly hit animal on the road is the deer. From some of the most isolated states, like Alaska, to some of the sandiest, like Florida, deer lead as the top victim of motorists more than any other animal.
The first animal cruelty legislation was passed in 1635, which prohibited tearing wool off of living sheep.
In Australia, around 55,000–60,000 reports of animal mistreatment are made each year to the RSPCA [2], approximately 11,000 of which are made in the state of Victoria [3].
The European wild rabbit is an introduced pest throughout the southern two thirds of Australia. They affect natural environments, primary production, and even townships and infrastructure. Wild rabbits are 'ecosystem engineers', fundamentally changing whole ecosystems.
In 1859 European wild rabbits were introduced into Australia so they could be hunted for sport. Within 50 years rabbits had spread across almost the entire continent, with devastating implications for Australia's indigenous flora and fauna.
Rabbits are one of the most destructive invasive species in Australia. This video gives an overview of the species and the management techniques landowners can use to control them. The first successful attempt to establish wild populations of rabbits in Australia occurred in the late 1850s.
Some bunnies are fine with being held, but never assume that your bunny likes being picked up just because they don't struggle in any way. Many rabbits hate being held and will actually freeze with fear. Our advise would be that it is always better to get down to your bunnies level and have a cuddle.
Rabbits are naturally very clean animals and do not like their toilet to be anywhere near their food or bedding area (just like cats!). They will happily use a litter box — and in the right environment, are quite happy as 'house bunnies'.
Rabbits are social animals, and, like us, can suffer from loneliness. Though there are exceptions, most rabbits want and need another rabbit for company. For this reason, we always recommend keeping rabbits in groups of two or more.
Hence least favourite pet animal = Parrots. Q. Yamini did a project 'Animals and Birds'.