67,000 rabbits are abandoned each year in the UK. Those are the lucky ones, taken in by animal rescues. Others don't get a second chance.

Baby rabbits are often bought on impulse as cute pets for children who are unaware of their needs. When the novelty wears off, the animal ends up being neglected, bored and lonely, in a cage or a hutch. It then becomes a burden, no longer wanted. Most rabbits end up in a rescue within a year, some are abandoned in the wild to a certain death. The rescue centres cannot cope with the numbers and struggle financially. Volunteers up and down the country work hard to pick up the pieces, but there are not enough suitable homes for all those animals. Some of them are too ill or aggressive due to mishandling and neglect and cannot be re-homed.

Every year, especially before Easter, rabbits are bred and advertised as fluffy baby bunnies in Gumtree and Friday-Ad. Gumtree and Friday-Ad provides breeders with free advertising. Whether they are aware of the issue or not, this irresponsible breeding causes a lot of unnecessary suffering. 

We urge Gumtree and Friday-Ad to make an ethical decision and ban those ads in order to discourage irresponsible breeding, reduce animal suffering and support the work of local animal rescues instead.

Anyone serious about getting a rabbit should contact their local rescue centre where plenty of animals are waiting for a good home.

Rabbits are a 10 year commitment.
Bunnies are for life, not just for Easter.

The 67,000 figure comes from a 2012 survey by the Rabbit Welfare Association. It represents the number of rabbits taken in by animal rescues that year. It does not take into account the number of rabbits sold online as unwanted, given away for free and those abandoned in the wild since that number is unknown.