TH E B U N OL OGIST

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April 2012
Massive rabbit rescue Life at the Do Hop Inn Adoption buns

Massive rabbit rescue

www.radicalrabbit.org www.freedomforfarmedrabbits.com www.bigearsanimalsanctuary.com In a massive joint effort between Radical Rabbit, Freedom for Farmed Rabbits and Big Ears Animal Sanctuary in Tasmania, 300 very lucky rabbits were released from their rabbit farm prison.

The thought of these bunnies being sold off to another person to continue rabbit farming was enough for the three groups to band together for a massive buy out to legally close the farm down forever and to give all the rabbits a chance at life and to destroy all the cages. The covert operation of buying out the rabbit farm was kept secret to avoid losing the sale. Once the sale had gone through (thanks to many people who donated a great deal of money), the rabbits were collected by Big Ears Animal Sanctuary.

When an ad was seen for a rabbit farm in Tasmania that was up for sale, the three groups decided to become involved and shut it down forever. Originally the number of rabbits advertised was 50 plus the cages.

What was originally 50 rabbits increased to 300 which included all the bunnies destined for slaughter as well as some pregnant females when the farmer selling the farm discovered that the buyer was an animal sanctuary. Fortunately, the person who was selling the farm had owned it for only a few years (after buying it from someone else before him). He was not comfortable with the farming processes and wanted to get out of the rabbit farming business. After the bunnies were transported to Big Ears Animal Sanctuary, the boys & girls were kept separated (as none were desexed). The adult girls were released into a large enclosed grassed area, the pregnant girls were allowed to nest in safe zones and the boys were housed in a separate area (most inside as there were not many boy buns).

But the really great news is that so many are enjoying their new found freedom and that is what this rescue was all about.

What is wonderful to see from this massive rabbit rescue are the wonderful and happy results of bunnies that have never seen sunlight or solid ground under their feet to run and be free for the first time.

And, the cycle of breeding, slaughter, illness and inhumane conditions has been stopped for good.

Rabbits that are labelled meat rabbits are just as wonderful, affectionate and inquisitive as bunnies that are labelled as pets. There is no difference and, in fact, the rabbits chosen to be farmed as used because of their docile and quiet nature. All these lucky buns are now learning to walk, run & eat good food. Unfortunately, not all the buns were healthy. As in any rabbit farm, rabbits suffer numerous health issues in these places. They suffer from respiratory problems, infections, abscesses on their feet from standing on wire flooring, abscesses from bites or scratches and many other complications.

But the story isnt over yet. Big Ears Animal Sanctuary and the bunnies need your help. All these bunnies need to be vet assessed, treated for medical conditions and desexed. If you can help at all with any donations, please visit Big Ears donation page
http://www.bigearsanimalsanctuary.com/howto-help.php Donations deductible. over $2 are tax

When donating to the bunnies, please write rabbit rescue in the comment box so Big Ears know where to direct your donation.

The bunnies NEED your help

Life at the Do Hop Inn

By Karen (www.boingonline.com) This month we continued our checkups & calici vaccinations.

Princesss main reason for visiting the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic was that her eyes were irritating her again. Dr Alice gave her a really good checkup and found that both of her lenses had shifted and one in particular had a little bit of blood showing at the bottom of her eye. She was prescribed Voltaren eye drops (anti inflammatory) twice a day for one month and Tricin (antibiotic) for one week. This has really helped her and she seems much happier. Her ear cleans are also helping relieve the pressure on her ear. Shes not a great patient but Im sure she appreciates how better she feels afterwards. Pumpkin was feeling very itchy around his bottom. He was prescribed Revolution for Cats and this really helped him out. No more scratching!!!

At the clinic Ginger & Molly

Ginger (left) and Molly visited the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic for a checkup & vaccination. Molly had a lump on her ear that was part of an ear infection. Dr Alice gave it a good massage and clean and removed lots of yucky stuff. She went home with medications to clean her ear. Mollys a great patient and even enjoyed her home ear cleans. It also means that she doesnt need any weekly penicillin injections anymore as that wasnt helping her ear infection. Ginger had his teeth checked to see if his molars were spurring again. Fortunately, not at the moment but will probably need a molar trim in another month.

At home
Rupert
I am so proud of Rupert!! Rupert was never toilet trained when we adopted him before Christmas with a head tilt so he has been a very messy house guest, not knowing what to do where. We have been washing towels constantly to keep Rupert nice & clean but we were really wanting him to convert to using a hay litter tray so we dont end up with hay, poo & wee everywhere!!! Because of Ruperts head tilt, it does make it difficult for him to climb into a litter tray and get out again. For this reason, I was giving him a lid to an underbed storage container covered in newspaper and topped with hay. Unfortunately, this meant hay everywhere and hed stll wee & poo next to the tray instead of on it. So, with a tip from another bunny person, I picked up a potting tray from Bunnings. It has a low front and high sides. It was introduced to Rupert and it did take about 24 hours for him to understand what it was for, but hes doing well and using it now.

Princess & Pumpkin

Next was Princess (left) and Pumpkin . Princess also had a really hard lump on one ear that was due to an ear infection. Another generous ear massage and clean and another lot of gunky stuff removed.

Saffy & Finn

Finn (left) was very very lonely and no matter how much I tried to bond him with Isabelle, it just didnt work. Finn was bored and sad so just before Easter, I had an urge to find a bunny that was in need of a new home. For some reason, I started searching Gumtree (which I hate!!) and kept seeing this little 5 month old cashmere girl bunny that was looking for a new home. It was just before Easter and the ad read:

Adopt me!!
Peta & Leroy Location: Melbourne

We dont have the time to look after her anymore. Would be good as a pet or for breeding
Knowing how hard it is to look after long haired bunnies, I didnt want this little girl to end up miserable and thickly matted and caged as an Easter gift or, worse, turning into a breeding machine. So, an adventure trip to Roxburgh Park was organized and Saffy came home to live at the Do Hop Inn. It turned out that Saffy was already really badly matted and did require lots of grooming. She is only 5 months old so I cant imagine how she ended up that bad at such a young age. After settling in for a few days and lots of grooming, I introduced her to Finn. Their first date went so well that the next day, they started living together permanently. These two gorgeous indoor bunnies are desexed and currently looking for a new home (only because of moving house and there is a resident fox terrier that is a danger to the bunnies). Leroy is placid, sweet and can be very entertaining. Peta oozes personality. She's affectionate (although doesn't like being handled) and loyal and has no issue speaking her mind!
If you could offer Peta & Leroy a new loving indoor home, please contact Emma at emmalouisesaunders@gmail.com

Nibbles Location: Melbourne

Finn is a whole new bunny! He just adores Saffy and Saffy adores him. They are regularly seen grooming each other and playing in their hay trays. Its wonderful to see Finn so happy and to know that another little bunny will not be locked in a tiny cage or used to breed more unwanted, homeless bunnies. To cope with our growing number of long haired bunnies, we did, however, have to upgrade to a new set of clippers and I have to say that my new Wahl clippers with a #40 blade are fantastic for long bunny fur!!

Nibbles is a two & a half year old outgoing desexed and vaccinated female cashmere lop (vaccinated in December 2011). She recently lost her partner and her current family wish to find hew a new home and a new friend. After losing her friend recently, her current family do not feel that they can cope with another bunny. Nibbles has been spending a lot of time inside of late because she is on her own. She is used to a large inside/outside enclosure with lots of room to move. Nibbles is currently being groomed once a week and her fur rimmed every 4-6 weeks to minimise any matting. If you are interested in giving Nibbles a new loving home, please contact Monique on 0414 735 218 or kmblanch@bigpond.net.au