Better Digs Needed For Rescued Rabbits

Dozens of local rescued rabbits are asking you to dig deep into your pockets as a new campaign for better rescue accommodation is launched.
 
Fairly Beloved Rabbit Care is ‘hopping’ for your support as they launch their new campaign this week, Bedrooms & Binkies.  The campaign seeks to raise enough funds to replace the aging and damaged hutches and runs throughout the rescue to make life for the rabbits a lot more pleasant.

The Glasgow based rabbit-dedicated rescue charity, with a number of foster carers operating within the local area and throughout Scotland, is urging animal lovers to get involved in a wide range of fundraising activities as they work towards replacing the equipment for over 40 foster carers throughout Scotland.

David Bell, the charity’s co-founder and rescue coordinator says, “The charity’s funds are focused on paying our vet bills every month, and so we have scraped by over the past five years by using the largest and best quality hutches we can from those that have been donated to us.  However, many commercially available hutches are simply too small and don’t meet our minimum size requirements so finding good quality large hutches and runs is incredibly difficult.”

As well as relying on donated equipment, the charity has found that many of the items offered to them are of a low quality and often need repaired or replaced after just a few months of use.

“Our volunteers always strive to offer the rabbits in the rescue the best possible experience as we prepare them for adoption.  It simply can’t be done using equipment that’s creaking at the seams and always needs patchwork repairs,” David continues, “The rabbits deserve so much better.”

Rabbits are the UK’s third most popular furry friend, but continue to be the most abandoned, neglected and misunderstood.  As a result Fairly Beloved Rabbit Care experience a very high demand for their services, which include rabbit rescue, adoption, bonding and care advice.

Since the rescue opened in December 2010, they have rescued over 800 domestic rabbits.  However, this number could have been significantly higher had the charity had more hutch space and foster carers available.  The demand for rabbit rehoming services is significantly higher than the available spaces within rescue services throughout the country.

Rhona Wilkie, Foster Care Coordinator for the charity, said: “I can’t wait to see happy hopping bunnies settling in to new hutches that are warm, safe and comfortable for them. Many of the rabbits entering the rescue have never known care like they will receive from their foster carers, and it will be great to see the standard of our equipment match that of our dedicated volunteer team.”

Fairly Beloved Rabbit Care are also looking for a number of local joiners to build the hutches and runs and deliver these to the foster carers’ homes.  The customised equipment has all been designed with the rabbits needs in mind.  Click here for our supplier’s information pack if you are a supplier that would like to get involved.

The campaign, which is expected to run for a number of months, needs to raise around £16,000 to purchase high quality hutches and runs for forty of its current foster carers.

To get the campaign off the ground, the charity has launched its own JustGiving campaign page and is working on plans for various fundraising activities over the coming months including fun runs, family days and much more.

David encourages anyone with a passion for animals or rabbits to consider getting involved.

“Run a 10k for us, sell your unwanted items at a car boot sale, save your spare change in our home collection box or simply donate on our website.  Every penny helps and the rabbits will be incredibly grateful!”.  Click here to sign up for your own fundraising activity to raise funds for the Bedrooms & Binkies campaign.

Some typical examples of the standards of hutches donated to the charity below.  We often have to refuse the offers of hutches as they just would not suit the needs of the rabbits, and so the charity has to stretch our funds to purchase cheap hutches which at least meet the basic needs of our rabbits.