Rabbit relinquishment to two UK rescue centres and beyond

Rabbits are a popular pet in the UK with an estimated one million being kept. Concern has been raised about the standards of care afforded to pet rabbits and a 2012 survey suggested that 67,000 rabbits are handed over to rescue centres each year, possibly due to owners losing interest. To determine reasons for rabbit relinquishment a survey was conducted of two UK rescue centres that take rabbits. For a one year period (2013) the centres reported information about the rabbits individual characterises (gender, age, neutered status, colour) and reasons that were given for relinquishing the rabbit. As rescue centres are not the only method used to relinquish rabbits, a public, online survey collected data from 1250 participants to determine how common it was for pets to be relinquished and what methods of relinquishment were used, (i.e. rescue centres, adverts, friends, family and colleagues etc.). A small sample of participants (n=20) were invited to answer further questions on their experiences in giving up rabbits specifically. Results show that rescue centres are not the most commonly used method to relinquish rabbits (or other pets) and common factors affecting relinquishment to rescue centres are different to reasons given by respondents to an anonymous online survey. Risk factors for pet rabbit relinquishment are also presented.