Showing posts with label year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label year. Show all posts

Monday, January 31, 2011

Help Save Rabbits This Chinese New Year







INTERNATIONAL HOUSE RABBIT SOCIETY AND SINGAPORE HOUSE RABBIT SOCIETY URGE PEOPLE NOT TO BUY RABBITS FOR LUNAR YEAR OF THE RABBIT

RICHMOND, CA/SINGAPORE (January 27, 2011) - House Rabbit Society (HRS) and House Rabbit Society Singapore (HRSS) strongly urge people not to acquire live rabbits for the Year of the Rabbit unless they are willing to make a 10-year commitment to properly care for the animals. In the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Rabbit occurs every twelve years. Asian animal welfare groups like HRSS are warning of an inevitable outcome this year: abandoned and neglected bunnies.

In Asian countries, and in Asian-American communities in the United States, there is a growing demand for pet rabbits, who are thought to bring luck during the Year of the Rabbit. Once the year is over, the rabbits are often abandoned. HRSS reports that in the 1999 Year of the Rabbit, rabbits in Singapore were abandoned at that nation's shelters at twice the rate that they were in 1998.

Both HRS and HRSS point out that while rabbits are intelligent, curious, loving pets, they are not "lucky charms." In addition, they are not low maintenance pets. Margo DeMello, president of HRS, encourages rabbit lovers to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit by purchasing artwork and gifts adorned with rabbits. Items can even be purchased from rabbit rescue groups, which then benefit rabbits, such as the rabbit-themed angbao (red envelopes in which to give money) sold by HRSS. "Rabbits are not 'low maintenance' pets," says DeMello; they require at least the same amount of work as a cat or dog, and often more."

Mary Cotter, vice-president of HRS, says that many of the rabbits purchased for luck will never live to see their first birthday. Some will die from neglect, while others will be abandoned in local parks or left at animal shelters. "It is irresponsible for pet stores to push rabbits during the Year of the Rabbit" says Cotter. "Unless people are willing to take full responsibility for the possible 10-year lifespan of a live rabbit, they should not acquire live rabbits. They should decorate their homes with rabbit-themed items instead."

Children, especially, do not realize that rabbits are fragile, ground-loving creatures who will struggle when held and are easily hurt when dropped. Also, it is near impossible for a child to commit to a rabbit for 10 years. All too often, the child loses interest, and the rabbit ends up unwanted.

"Many pets in Singapore suffer unnecessarily because of ignorance on the part of their owners," commented HRSS President Jacelyn Heng. "During the Year of the Rabbit, many people buy rabbits for the wrong reason and do not fully understand the responsibilities of keeping an animal at home. The problem is particularly acute for rabbits because people wrongly assume that they are low-maintenance starter pets for children." Jacelyn added, "Many pet shops in Singapore are also not well informed about the care needed for a pet rabbit and often provide wrong or false information to unknowing first-time owners."

For people willing to make a long term commitment to a pet rabbit, HRS and the HRSS recommend adopting a rabbit from local animal shelters or rabbit rescue groups instead of purchasing them, as there are simply too many rabbits desperately in need of a good home. For those who are unsure about the commitment that they are able to offer, toys or rabbit-themed gifts would do just as well for this Lunar New Year's celebrations. Let's make this Year of the Rabbit a truly enjoyable time for our rabbits.

For people willing to make the long-term commitment, here are a few points to consider before acquiring a rabbit:

  • Housing: Bunnies need a roomy indoor space to call their own. There should be room for a litterbox, toys, food and water bowls. Playpens or puppy exercise pens are a good alternative to the small cages sold in pet stores.

  • Playtime: Rabbits need plenty of exercise and should be allowed at least 30 hours out-of-cage running time in a rabbit-proofed area of the home per week.

  • Outdoors: Rabbits should never be left outdoors unsupervised. They can, literally, be frightened to death when approached by predators such as dogs, cats, raccoons and owls. They can also dig under fences to escape.

  • Litter Box: Rabbits, once spayed or neutered, will readily use litterboxes that are place in one corner of the rabbit's cage; the rabbit's running space should contain at least one additional box. Use dust-free litter--not the clumping kind, and no softwood shavings.

  • Diet: Bunnies need fresh water, unlimited fresh, grass hay, 1-2 cups of fresh vegetables, and a small serving (1/4 c per 5 lb. rabbit) of plain rabbit pellets each day.

  • Health: Like dogs and cats, rabbits should be spayed or neutered. The risk of uterine cancer in unspayed female rabbits is alarmingly high, and unneutered males are likely to spray.

  • Grooming: Rabbits shed their coat 3-4 times per year; use a flea comb and brush away excess fur.

    A person who chooses a baby rabbit as a pet must:

  • Have lots of time, a household that can withstand some chewing, and a stable residence.

  • Expect an unneutered/unspayed baby may spray urine on the walls. Know that neutering/spaying (at four to six months) will greatly alleviate or stop the problem.

  • Expect accidents when baby forgets the location of the litterbox.

  • Allow the rabbit at least 30 hours a week of free time outside her cage.

  • Know the cute baby will soon be an adult rabbit and may have a different personality.

    House Rabbit Society is an international, volunteer-based nonprofit organization with two primary goals: 1) to rescue abandoned rabbits and find permanent homes for them; 2) to educate the public and assist humane societies in teaching proper rabbit care. HRS has fosterers, educators, and chapters around the world, and a rabbit adoption and education center in Richmond, California.

    The House Rabbit Society Singapore is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to rabbit welfare and awareness. The HRSS runs a fostering program to rescue and re-home abandoned rabbits and participates in numerous public events to educate the general public about rabbit care and behavior. 



    • Angpao are small envelopes or packets (traditionally red) that are used in Asian communities to give gifts of money.

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    Monday, January 24, 2011

    Year of the Rabbit: Deadly start for impulse pet buys


    Buying animals on impulse is usually a bad idea for starters because people don't fully understand about caring for the rabbit and what is involved. Pet rabbits are then often given up because they are not what they expected and have special needs.. I really like to push information on correct rabbit care to everyone and tell you to do your research before purchasing a rabbit..  Unwanted rabbits must never be dumped or released into the wild ( or Universities ) for that matter ! 
    Taobao.com is one site where online vendors sell bunnies online and has sold 89 rabbits in the past week at 30 yuan (US$4.5) each. But according to customer comments, many pets died in transit or shortly after arrival. :( Many of the vendors will not give a refund unless the dead animal is returned which is also illegal to send dead animals in the mail... read more  I tried to translate the website and do a search for live pets but I think they have possibly been banned since releasing of these news articles. :)
    I think sending bunnies in the post is a hideous thing to do! Rabbits can die so easily from heat stroke and I'm wondering what water and food they are getting during transport, and with poor ventilation and going to the bathroom in the box would most likely cause suffocation. It is actually illegal to post live animals this way and the boxes are supposably labelled as Fragile - Glass.  Some deliveries take 5 days which is terrible as rabbits need to eat constantly. Correct feeding and diet is so important for them. I feel sick when I think about the poor buns being mailed that way. Rabbits also get easily stressed and can die easily from shock, so death is highly likely from transporting rabbits this way :(
     Buying a rabbit online before seeing the bunny is not always a smart idea as you don't get to see what it's health or temperament is really like. It is recommended that rabbits are purchased from a trusted breeder. Bunnies that have not been handled from a young age can often have temperament issues and more likely to be scared of being picked up and handled, which can result in an unfriendly bunny.
    Buying Roxanne was definately not an impulse buy for me as I had planned to get her over a year ago was just waiting for the right bunny to be bred .  It just happened that I got her just before Year of the Rabbit is to begin, which is a co-incidence! :) .. (incase you were wondering).. 
    READ ARTICLE -
    Article Shared : CNN
    Dead rabbits are showing up in Chinese mailboxes as pets ordered for the Year of the Rabbit aren’t surviving the shipping process, the Shanghai Daily reports.
    The Year of the Rabbit commences on February 3 under the Chinese lunar calendar and bunnies are in demand to celebrate it. One online search showed more than 600 vendors selling rabbits at prices from 15 to 2,000 yuan ($2.25 to $300), Shanghai Daily reported.
    But, the paper said, the rabbits can spend five days in shipment and many have suffocated or frozen to death in the small boxes in which they are sent.
    At least one vendor had stopped shipments because of the deaths, the paper reported.
    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals issued a statement from its Shanghai office on Friday urging people not to bring a rabbit into their home for the Chinese New Year.
    "Rabbits aren't just cute and fluffy - they're high-maintenance animals who require significant resources, equipment, attention and veterinary care," PETA’s Maggie Chen said in a statement.
    "Rabbits are complex animals, and potential caretakers - who often purchase the animals on a whim - rarely understand the specific needs of their new companions," the statement said. “Once the novelty has worn off, many bunnies are neglected, dumped at animal shelters, or simply turned loose in the wild.”
    That’s the problem an ocean away from China at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.
    The school is saying unwanted pet rabbits dumped on its campus after February 28 will be killed, according to a report in the Victoria Times Colonist.
    The university has been trying to rid its campus of the creatures for two years because of damage to landscaping and playing fields, according to the Times Colonist report. More than 800 have been trapped and moved to sanctuaries, it said.
    But people are still seeing the campus as a place to dump their pets so the university is adopting the get-tough policy.
    “While UVic is willing to dedicate some resources to rabbit removal, it is unrealistic for the university to divert funding to this task in perpetuity,” facilities management director Tom Smith told the paper.
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    UVic wants to get rid of all rabbits at its campus

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    Related Blog Post: 2011: Year of The Rabbit

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