Rescue & Adoptions

Past Featured Rescues

Claire

Claire and seven other rabbits were rescued from a would-be breeder who confined the animals in filthy, bare wire cages in her backyard in New York. The rabbits lived in crowded two-foot by one-foot cages, exposed to the elements and lying in their own feces and urine. They were routinely left outside without cover in snowstorms, rainstorms and hot weather. Their cages were rarely cleaned - sometimes filled with almost four inches of rabbit waste - and were never padded with more than a few handfuls of straw. The "owner" of the rabbits did not provide them with regular access to food or water, leaving them dehydrated and hungry. The woman stated that she had originally purchased the rabbits as pets for her kids, but was now breeding them to make money.

Thankfully, a concerned neighbor noticed that the bunnies were suffering. She kept an eye on the rabbits for several months, going over in the middle of the night to feed them, change their bedding and provide them with fresh water whenever possible. She tried to reason with the woman and teach her about basic rabbit care without causing the woman to forbid her access to the rabbits. Horrified by the conditions the rabbits were living in and by the "owner's" intentions to sell the sickly animals, the rabbits' kind rescuer tried repeatedly to convince the "owner" to give them up. Finally, the breeder agreed to abandon her newfound trade and surrendered the animals to her neighbor, who delivered them safely to Farm Sanctuary.

Since there are no laws protecting rabbits from this type of treatment, without the intervention of a caring person, these rabbits would have continued to suffer.

The three adult rabbits and five babies immediately fell in love with their new home and within a few hours of arriving at our shelter, Winona one of the adults, gave birth to babies. Today, all but one of the rabbits rescued in this case are living happily at our New York Shelter. Peapod, a rabbit with special needs, was adopted into the loving home of a Farm Sanctuary staff member. Happy to be free, these lucky rabbits spend their days munching on fresh veggies, snuggling in clean straw and enjoying the affection of their caregivers.