OUTDOOR RABBITS

In the many rescue cases we have been involved in, more than half the time the rabbit was locked out of the house by their owner. These owners often end up neglecting the rabbit because of the ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ mentality.  When our volunteers confront these owners, they will act defensive and brush us off as if it’s a non issue. They will try to justify their action by claiming they love the rabbit and the rabbit enjoys it’s freedom out there. I mean, seriously, you expect us to believe you?

There are 101 reasons why keeping your beloved rabbit outdoor is a very bad thing to do. If you are one of those who keep their pets outside your house, here are some reasons why you should think twice about your actions:

1. Anyone and everyone can access the rabbit and steal it away from you. Is this what you want to do to a rabbit you claim to love? Or maybe you were just waiting for it to happen.

2. Rabbits are timid and peace loving creatures. The outdoor can be noisy, and on stormy days, can you imagine how wet the rabbit can be and how scared it will be from the loud thunder? Why do this to an innocent animal?

3. Mites and parasites are too common in the outdoor environment. Please spare a thought so the rabbit don’t itch to death. We have seen a rabbit that died because it was infested with mites. I mean, how cruel is that?

4. If you are keeping the rabbit outside because it is smelly, try to understand why it smells. Rabbits are naturally odorless and they will only smell if they are not properly litter trained or their space is not well maintained.

5. If you are keeping the rabbit outside because you don’t have space, consider litter training the rabbit so it can free roam the house without a huge cumbersome cage. Information about litter training is all over the internet or you can contact us for help.

Unfortunately, keeping their pets outdoor is too common in Singapore. Many pet owners still adopt the ‘kampung days’ mentality by conveniently locking the rabbit in a cage and putting it in their corridor or backyard. I mean, we don’t mean to judge but it is truly a time to EVOLVE. Back in the ‘kampung days’, our rabbits don’t live longer than 2 years old and when they die, they are fed to the dogs. Now, we have more knowledge about rabbits and we have educated doctors who specialize in caring for rabbits so they can live 10 years or even more. So, don’t you feel that it’s about TIME to improve?

The next time you see your neighbor keeping their pet rabbit out of their house, please consider talking to them to educate them about caring for their pets indoor. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they still need to learn and not condemn them they are bad owners. If you need help, contact us and our volunteers can go down with you to educate. Asking them to surrender their rabbit is the last thing we want to do. Instead, we hope that more people can help to educate these pet owners and create a more animal friendly Singapore.

For printouts of our bunny care guide, please go to www.bunnywonderlandsg.com/tips

For AVA Responsible Pet Ownership guide, please go to http://www.ava.gov.sg/docs/default-source/tools-and-resources/public-education/howtotakecareofpetsbooklet