2d • Health and Wellness
Debunking Rescue Myths
By S Hughes
Myths busted by actual current up to date science:
"80% of rabbit does get cancer". This was based on the findings of the Greene study performed in 1947 and published in the 1950s. It's 79yrs old. Studies done within the last 5 to 10yrs have extremely reduced that down to 14% or lower... that's less than humans.
"Wire cages hurt rabbits". This was from studies performed in the 1970s, 56yrs old. The study used cages no bigger than the travel carriers breeders currently use for transport to different locations/brief trips... no longer what we use for permanent housing and haven't in decades. Current science from the past five yrs has given rabbits the choice of wire cages vs different housing, the rabbits themselves choose the cages, even if they're born in a group/colony and have never seen one. When European countries began requiring group housing and no wire, rabbits started getting sick and injured. Upon further scientific studies, correct wire caging is the superior housing format. It is cleaner, rabbits have their own space, their feet can sit in a natural position and stay dry. Sore hocks are a disqualification on the show table, yet multiple thousands of breeder rabbits are shown every year, that are housed overwhelmingly on wire. Because correct wire flooring doesn't cause sore hocks... it actually heals them. There is a difference in the type and spacing of wire that is appropriate. Chicken wire and hardware cloth are not correct. 14 or 16 gauge GAW 1/2in x 1in spacing is correct for flooring. This acts like bed springs to give some, while still supporting. Every time the rabbit moves, the pressure on the foot changes...unlike household flooring which pushes the toes up and puts constant pressure on the hock. Unless you're changing the litter box every time the rabbit goes, then they'll be touching the poop and pee with their feet. In wire cages, that all falls completely away from the rabbit and they never contact it.
Rabbits do not need friends, in fact they dislike it. "Bonding" should be re-named "Forced co-habitation". All our domesticated rabbits descend from the wild European rabbit. The warrens of wild European rabbits are not one large hole in the ground where everyone lives in peace. The rabbit Warren is individual apartments underground where wild rabbits live singly for 20hrs a day. They maintain space from each other. They're violently territorial. They want to see other rabbits, but not interact. In every group housing study from 10yrs ago to current year, the stress hormones in group housed rabbits skyrocket. The housing method with the least stress is a stacked wire caging system where rabbits can see each other, but do not have to defend territories. (Please read "The Social Nature of the European Rabbit").
The only thing I agree with in this post, is that muesli sucks. Muesli is that rabbit food with bright colorful bits in it. Complete rabbit pellets are the correct diet. No, it's not meant just to make rabbits fat. Like any food, portion control is necessary to avoid obesity. Protein levels in most timothy based pellets is extremely lacking and doesn't meet basic metabolic requirements for even organ function (per the international table of rabbit nutrition). The "rabbits should eat 80% hay" myth also comes from the house rabbit society. It is not based in science. When you take the food ratios from various house rabbit groups, and actually sit down to do the math, a rabbit would have to consume 25lbs of hay daily in order to meet basic metabolic requirements. A recent study on the craniomandibular system of rabbits has concluded that chewing hay is actually a cause for mechanical malocclusion, periodontal disease, and malnutrition. (Böhmer).
No, alfalfa isn't bad for rabbits or causes bladder sludge. Spinal injury or incorrect confirmation does. Alfalfa can add to a calcium issue after the fact, but it is not the cause. These are not my words, but the words of Frances Harcourt-Brown, DVM, world renowned rabbit expert veterinarian. She began noticing a trend of brittle bones in the pet rabbits seen in her clinic and upon further study, noted this getting worse as more years went by after people started saying to take alfalfa away from adult rabbits. In every case of bladder sludge she saw... the rabbit had an old spinal injury or poor pelvic confirmation that didn't allow full bladder voiding. Breeder rabbits do not have bladder voiding issues, because we select for correct conformation, despite a predominantly alfalfa heavy diet.
Actual rabbit breeders stopped selling rabbits as pets over a decade ago. What is currently ending up in shelters are rabbits bred by unscrupulous individuals... they are not to be called breeders, they are not worthy of that title.
In the unique case of rabbits, long term breeders and vets have similar knowledge levels about the species. There are zero veterinary colleges in the world that provide a hands on rabbit specific curriculum... even post graduate exotics specialty courses do not have a hands on rabbit specific curriculum. The people with the most hands on experience with rabbits, are the long term breeders. It's a species specific situation. Even a "Rabbit Savvy Vet" has less hands on experience with rabbits.
It is a myth that rabbit breeders don't breed for longevity. What purpose would it serve if a rabbit just dropped at 4-5yrs old? Many breeders have rabbits that are successfully breeding at 5-8yrs of age. I personally have hand over 100 rabbits reach over 10yrs of age. If a rabbit has done a great job as a breeder, most of us retire them to live out the rest of their lives. I currently have geriatric retirees.
If you get a rabbit in your shelter that has ear tattoos.... contact the breeder community. We know each other's tattoos and can track down what happened with a rabbit. One rescue once scoffed at me for this, but humored me and showed me the tattoo. Within 1hr, we'd tracked down the rabbit's breeder. The breeder had passed away and her family had sold her rabbits, and one of those buyers was who dumped the rabbit. Not the breeder. The buyer was successfully charged with animal neglect and got civil damages for breech of sales contract.
If the rescue community would simply work with the real breeder community... so many fewer rabbits would end up in shelters. We can spot red flags in unscrupulous pet breeders faster than yall can, because we know what's out of standard for each breed.
If someone says they're "ARBA registered" that's a red flag. Etc etc.
The presumption that actual rabbit breeders don't keep up to date on the latest, is absolutely false. I'm happy to provide receipts for every statement I made.
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Debunking Rescue Myths
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