holland lop from a breeder?

Question
my mother and i are considering finding a holland lop to adopt or purchase.  i
would prefer to adopt from a rescue, giving an older rabbit a good home but
have had difficulty locating one.  i came across a breeder who has a small
holland lop female that he wants to give away because of a potential gene -
forget which one and don't particularly care as the bunny wouldn't have a
chance to pass it along to anything (barring imaculate conception). i know
nothing about the history or conditions of his animals. i was wondering if this
is an acceptable alternative to a rescue organization as the breeder wouldn't
be profitting and the bunny would get a nice home.  what do you think?  
should i keep looking for other places?  i don't want to support the bad guy!

Answer
Hi Courtney,

thanks for writing and being sensitive to the whole breeder/rescue issue in the first place.  I am always glad to discuss this with interested people.

I know nothing about this particular breeder, bear in mind.  I can't tell you whether he's genuinely concerned about the lop with the 'defect'.  I am sure that he would rather not take care of the rabbit because it would be a negative profit animal for him unless he can get rid of it one way or another.  But for argument's sake I will take him at his word that he wants the rabbit to go to a good home.  Fine.

The problem isn't that you are helping out this bunny who happens to come from a breeder.  You are basically helping the breeder out by taking a problem animal off of his hands.  This kind of support, frankly, just encourages a breeder to keep breeding.  He can find sympathetic rabbit people who will come to his aid and rid him of his non-profitable rabbits (taking care of his problems for him), and he can keep right on breeding and cranking out his 'good' stock rabbits as usual.

The issue is a moral issue that goes beyond the surface argument of caring for an unwanted animal.  It is about whether or not rabbit owners, recognizing that rabbits are the 3rd most abandoned animal in America behind cats and dogs, are going to support the individuals who keep pumping more and more animals into the system even though demand isn't able to keep up with the huge supply (and surplus) of rabbits we have available right now.  Just check out any shelter or rabbit rescue group and ask them if their numbers of rabbits they work with are going up or down.  They are all going up.

So while you may 'save' this one from the breeder, you are basically rewarding the breeder by taking the problem animal off his hands.  I would say on principle, while my heart breaks for that little gal he doesn't want, I can't do anything that would support this breeder to continue to put more and more rabbits out into pet stores, to be bought on impulse, only to end up clogging the already-overtaxed rescues and shelters and be put down.  The sad fact that I have had to internalize volunteering for rescue groups and shelters is that not every animal can be saved.  

I want to leave you with a parting thought about rabbit adoption from a shelter or rescue group.  Do you realize that when you adopt, you are actually saving TWO rabbits?  You save the one you adopt, but you also save the next rabbit who gets the spot of the rabbit you just adopted.  It is doubly important to get your rabbit from rescues or shelters.

Further rabbits from rescues are generally altered before leaving, so that cost you are spared from.  It makes having them as a house rabbit that much easier.

I would do some more digging for rabbit groups in your area.  If you go to the House Rabbit Society (www.rabbit.org) you can find local chapters of HRS plus they may list other non-HRS rescue groups as well that are in your area.  If this doesn't help, I'd call up your local shelters or vets and ask them where you might be able to adopt a rabbit from.  Often they work with these groups and could point you in the direction.  I also would not rule out going to out-of-state groups that are close to you.  I know of many people for ex. who have travelled up from Illinois and Minnesota to adopt a rabbit in Wisconsin.  It is not unheard of, especially if the rabbit is healthy and can handle the trip.

I also would not fix yourself into one type of rabbit.  Take a look at the rabbits you know of locally in the rescues and shelters, they may not be lops but you may find you bond with them and decide that is the bunny for you.  I have seen it happen, people come in looking for a rabbit with certain physical characteristics, but we recommend one or two others as well because we know their personalities, and they wind up going home with one we recommend even though they aren't what they thought they wanted when they came to the shelter.  Give them a chance, you may find an incredibly special rabbit if you have some time to interact with them.

Lee