Today we start off a bit hard, before we get into the holiday fun and festivities with all the fun facts. Today is however education aimed at those wanting to get a new rabbit, or those who want to dump so they can go on holiday.
Just putting domestic pet rabbits together is one of the harshest cruelties ever, committed by every single person who dumps their rabbit, and even committed by some well recognised rescue instances. Maybe they need education, or they do not care about the rabbits themselves, only ego. “Look at us”.
If these rabbits have not been socialized before (lived next to each other for a bit, met in supervised playdates in the day) it means absolute hell for the more timid, scared rabbits. It means shortened lives and health issues. It even means death.
No rabbit deserves to be on constant alert, or in constant flight/fight mode. Never properly being able to sleep. Most times the fight you see is fightmode activation from a bun in fear, trying to protect him/herself.
Imagine yourself, or a child, knowing you are going to constantly get a beating, get ra-pe-d, knowing you are going to be hurt immensely. Can you relax in those circumstances? No. The stress of this constant fight or flight mode, harms the rabbit’s hearts immensely. As it would do your’s too. And the trauma remains for years in their behaviour.
This also means the rabbit has a much shortened life, and is where the MYTH comes from that rabbits just live 2-5 years. They pass a lot faster from weakened hearts due to fear, or horrible deaths from not only predators, but their own kind too.
Predators, disease and parasite infections are lesser killers in feral and dumped domestic rabbits, in comparison to rabbits killing each other. They die more from being attacked by the other more streetwise, stronger and territorial rabbits.
Imagine you are dumped in a harsh gang territory, with nothing to defend yourself and no place to go. That is what dumped rabbits face when ther owners chuck them out close to a feral colony. If you cannot fight, you do not survive. Remember, in NATURE and indigenous colonies, the rabbit fluffles are all integrated since babies. This is different!!!
Bitewounds can fester and cause infections, that go on to septiceamia and a horrible suffering death. That is if flies do not start laying eggs in those wounds, causing the rabbit to be eaten alive from flystrike before dying of septiceamia. Kicks can burst organs, or break ribs that can stick through organs. It can also break backs or legs, and the rabbit will have a slow, starving death. Humping can break or damage backs. Noses are ripped up, which make smelling for food difficult. Eyes get ripped out, or penetrated which cause infections and horrible deaths. Ears often show terrible pain endured. Rabbit ears are extremely sensitive. Genitalia that is bitten and often leads to the rabbit not being able to deficate or urinate, thus dying from their own toxins taking over and causing septiceamia.
Thus, you cannot just put rabbits together. Not in your home, not dumping in the veld at another colony, and not in a rescue or petfarm, or anywhere else. The harm is immense and deadly, esp if the rabbits placed together is of a different status (feral, rescued, previous harm previous trauma) Rabbits needs to be introduced, live next to each other, socialized by supervised playdates.
Just placing rabbits together esp unsterilized, or before 8 weeks post steri, is CRUELTY. This is one of the main factors why it is cruel to dump your rabbit – no, they will not just join the other bunnies and be happy. They will fight for their life and live in fear till they die horribly… never resting properly, dodging predators, always being on the lookout for food, while parasites eat them alive. and
Just putting rabbits together and “letting them sort it out” is cruelty. Your responsibility is to keep them safe, and unharmed.
See a next point on Bonding.