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Companionship
It’s the sweetest thing to see rabbits enjoying, playing and loving each other. Rabbits need companionship from their own kind. It will never be enough to have a different kind of animal as their ”companion”, or any human. Only rabbits can be rabbits and truly speak their own language. So if your bun is on its own, please read up on why it should have a bunpanion and always adopt. There are so heartbreakingly many abandoned rabbits in need of homes.
Keeping single rabbits is illegal in Switzerland and Austria. Germany declares that social animals need to be kept with animals of their own kind, therefore, rabbits should not be kept by themselves. Rabbits are social creatures. They need each other. See what Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund say about this here: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/behaviour/rabbit-companionship/
And I promise you, once you have bonded buns, you could never imagine keeping them on their own.
A Rabbit’s Sweet Tooth
Rabbits like eating bananas. And apples, carrots and other treats. The problem is, like children (and certain adults!), they aren’t aware of when they’ve had enough of it. Bananas, apples and carrots, as well as certain “rabbit-treats” are high in sugar, and too much of that is not good for anyone. Not only is there the risk of being over-weight, it’s harmful for their overall health and can lead to dental issues. Rabbits need unlimited hay and lots of herbs and other suitable fresh food.
Some good resources and inspiration on food can be found here: https://how-to-rabbit.com/feeding-rules/ and here: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-diet/recommended-vegetables-herbs/
Why is it dangerous to put clothes/harnesses on rabbits?
- When something is put around their necks, they are at risk of having their necks broken due to sudden movement caused by their own stress or a wrong pull. They have much more fragile bones than dogs and cats and should never have anything constraining them.
- Rabbits regulate their own body temperature. If they’re put into clothes, not only is it stressful and they suffer, they could potentially die of heatstroke.
- Rabbits have much thicker fur than cats and dogs. They should never have any clothes on because of what’s mentioned above^
- Rabbits get easily scared since they are prey animals. Unlike dogs and cats, rabbits can be scared of almost anything. Being put into something unnatural like harnesses or clothes can make them scared and, at the very least, uncomfortable. Since they are prey animals, they will probably not even show you signs that they’re scared!
- Since rabbits can’t talk like cats or dogs, they suffer in silence and you will likely not know when they are hurting. Saying that your rabbit is fine with this kind of abuse is not only wrong and dangerous, it sends the awful message that animal abuse is fine as long as you can’t see that it’s happening.
- Taking a rabbit “for a walk” is a bad reason to put harnesses on them. Taking them for walks implies that they can’t get enough excercise at home (perhaps because being kept abusively in a cage). In those cases, the home set up needs to change so that the rabbits doesn’t “have to be walked”. See more under the section “Housing”.
With regard to clothes/harnesses, RWAF states the following:
“There is no benefit at all to a rabbit, as a prey animal, to be dressed up in clothes, to wear a harness, to be pushed in a push chair, or taken on an unnecessary car ride at all, in fact they can be detrimental to their welfare by causing them stress, so we do not approve of these things.”
Some good resources on the matter:
Georgia House Rabbit Society: https://www.houserabbitga.com/bunny-101-class-handout
The Bunny Jackpot Foundation UK: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=495182769317923&set=a.410244214478446
Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/clothes-harnesses-and-pushchairs/
Rabbit Rescue & Rehab: https://www.facebook.com/RabbitRescueRehab/posts/harness-walking-is-an-extremely-dangerous-practice-that-has-ended-in-tragedy-for/2557981357548378/
Beloved Rabbits: https://belovedrabbits.org/are-harnesses-safe-for-rabbits/
Alfred
I might be smol but I have big needs and dreams.
I want to jump around and explore all day and night. Except for when I eat. Or sleep. Then I want a comfy, soft place where I can make my own bed.
I like a clean toilet to go potty whenever needed, which is many times every day. I never go potty outside the toilet unless it would smell bad. You see, I’m very clean. My mom says all bunnies can be litter trained, and it’s true! It helps that she tidy up every day and refill the hay many times each day so it’s not dirty and smelI good. And like everybunny else, enjoy munching hay in the litter box.
Sometimes I also like to dig, and we have a big box filled with toilet paper rolls and other soft stuff for that. I also enjoy all the 10+ different tunnels around the house, but I’m sure there are even more hidden away. Just haven’t found them yet.
Every night when our pawrents go to sleep, they let us stay in a 20 sqm room with lots of toys, houses, a litterbox and a forage box. The forage box is filled with hay and different herbs and flowers. We really like digging out the yummy treats and sniffing our way to them. Of course I share everything with my bunwife Petunia. When we’ve had enough exploring and eating, we like to cuddle up next to each other. Everybun needs a bunny companion, someone who’s with you 24hrs – we know that our hoomans aren’t available all the time and being alone makes bunnies sad. Not not only that, studies have shown that we value bunfriends over food!
Unfortunately I was the only bunny living with my hoomans for the first year of my life, but I’m so glad I now have a loving buncompanion and pawrents.
– Alfred
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