Buying a rabbit.

Question
I want a rabbit and my favorites are lops.  I have talked to breeders before and they say to get rabbit from a breeder and not a humane society because humane society's don't know what there doing.  I was just wondering what you would recommend.

Answer
Dear Taylor,

I have to come down on the side of the Rabbit Rescue groups.  There's a lot of hostility on the part of some breeders towards such groups, because rescuers tend to cast a very hairy eyeball on breeding rabbits--mainly because the rescuers are left with the task of "cleaning up the mess" that breeders create by breeding and selling rabbits to people before those people have properly educated themselves about the commitment necessary to live with a rabbit.

Rabbits are NOT low maintenance pets, and they do have very special veterinary needs.  The very best place to learn all about the care of rabbits is at:

www.rabbit.org/

The most recent and accurate information on feeding, housing, spay/neuter and other care can be found there, and--speaking in all truth--it is MUCH more up to date and accurate than any information you will get from a breeder.  Some breeders do care about their rabbits as individuals.  But most just view them as a commodity for making money, and they don't spend a lot of time learning accurate information that will increase lifespan, quality of life, and health for the rabbits they have.  When they lose one, they just breed more.

Rabbit rescuers, on the other hand, view their rabbits as individuals, worthy of love and care no matter what breed or temperament.  Rescuers take in rabbits of every breed, age, and personality, including lops, from people who learned too late that a rabbit requires a LOT of care and attention--at least as much as a cat or dog.

So I'd recommend that you visit:

www.rabbit.org/chapters

to locate your nearest rabbit rescuer and set up a date to meet some of their sweet bunnies.  One big plus is that the rabbit(s) will already be spayed/neutered, sparing you that expense and worry.  Another is that the personality of the rabbit will be well established and known to the rescuer.  Breeders who sell baby rabbits have no way of knowing which ones will turn out to be shy, friendly, or ferocious, since the true personality of a rabbit usually emerges only at puberty.

I hope this helps you make the right decision:  Please rescue a needy, abandoned rabbit and don't encourage breeders to make more!

Good luck!

Dana