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What this survey does show is that the majority of breeders do take good care of their animals and do their best to make sure pets wind up in responsible homes. The results also point out that there is no money in pet sales and most of these breeders are pursuing rabbit breeding as a hobby, not a business. I was surprised at some of the results, mainly that so many provide written instructions and take back policies. I’m sure the rabbit rescuers out there will be pleased to see that breeders do work to educate their buyers.
The Results:
1) the length of time breeding varied from a low of 3 months to a high of 35 years (2 breeders).
0-4 yrs: 32% 5 yrs- <10 yrs: 32% 10 yrs & up: 36%
2) Where do you live? Responses came from all over the US which was very nice to see
3) 90% were ARBA members
4) 76% were members of a National Breed Specialty Club
5) Only 1 was a member of House Rabbit Society
7) Member of a: State All Breed Club 53%
State Specialty Club: 39%
Local All Breed Club: 39%
None of the above: 28%
8) Do you Breed Rabbits For: Show 90%, Pets 65%, Meat 38%, Wool 15%, Fur 14%
9) Do you breed rabbits primarily as a hobby? 85% As a Business? 8% Both: 7%
10) Do you believe there is a pet rabbit overpopulation crisis? 67% No, 21% Yes, 13% Maybe
12) Do you provide toys? 79% Yes
13) Do you provide exercise? 78% Yes **Only 11% provide neither toys or exercise
14) Would you take a sick rabbit to the vet (assuming it was treatable but beyond your ability to treat) 81% said Yes and another 3% said their local vets calls them for consultation on sick rabbits
15) Do you consider a non-breeding or show quality rabbit to be inferior as a pet? 11% Yes *3 said depends or maybe. 89% said no showing the vast majority of breeders don’t look down on pets!
16) Factors you consider when breeding your rabbits: Health 94%, Improve your line & breed 94%, Breed towards the standard 92%, Temperament 86%, Will breed rabbits with genetic problems: only 1 person checked this off, No consideration just want money: No one chose this. ***78% picked all of the first 4 factors
17) Do you support breeder licensing? 56% No, 22% Not sure or need more info, 22% Yes
18) **Those that said yes to question 17 did so because they wanted to make sure irresponsible breeders were discouraged. But studies have shown that breeder licensing doesn’t prevent irresponsible breeders or abandoned pets.
19) Have you checked your state laws regarding rabbits? 63% No, 38% Yes
20) Local Laws regarding rabbits? 47% No, 53% Yes
21) Do you monitor local government to prevent legislation that would adversely affect rabbits? 46% Yes
22) Do you monitor state and/or Federal government? 33% yes
23) Have you read the Animal Welfare Act? 21% yes
24) Are you required to be licensed under AWA? 4% Yes, 51% No, 44% don’t know
25) Have you had problems with ARAs? 17% Yes, 83% No
26) Have you had rabbits stolen? 22% Yes, 78% No **of those 17% from #25 7% answered yes to this question to.
27) Demand for pet rabbits is: 51% Low, 37% Medium, 12% High
28) Do you provide written care instructions? 92% Yes
29) Do you only provide verbal instructions? 8% **Only 1 person provides no instructions
31) Do you have a Take Back Policy if buyer no longer wants the rabbit? 84% Yes
32) Average Number of pet rabbits sold by a breeder: 33-34 *#32-#34 is per year
Breakdown of number sold as pets: 1 to 25 rabbits: 70% 26-50 rabbits: 15% 51-75 rabbits: 7% over 76 rabbits: 7%
33) Average Number of pet rabbits sold directly to the pet owner: 25-27
34) Average number sold to pet store or other outlet: 18 ***53% don’t or won’t sell to a pet store
35) Average price for a pet rabbit: $13-$19
36) Average price for a show or breeding quality rabbit: $31-$61
37) What assistance would you like from ARBA in regard to pet rabbits:
67% Detailed pet care info on ARBA web site
62% National ad campaign promoting buying from a breeder
62% National ad campaign promoting responsible pet ownership
56% More detailed pet care pamphlet
56% Pet rabbit care booklet to sell to buyers
49% Info in Domestic Rabbits about pet care & new pet medical info
6% None of the Above
Coming Soon the Foreign Country Results:
1. Are you a member of ARBA?
97% said yes
2. What purposes do you raise rabbits for? Show 96%, Pet 73%, Meat 45%, wool 15%, Other 11%, Fur 7%
3. Rank in order of primary purpose on down what your culls are used for:
Total:
Meat 53% Breeding/show 30% Fur 2% Pets 78% Wool 2% Other 16%
#1 purpose:
Pet 46% Meat 34% Breeding/show 14% Other 1%
#2 purpose:
Pets 24% Meat 14% Breeding/show 13% Other 7% Wool 2%
Fur 1%
4. How many different breeds do you raise? 1breed 38%, 2 breeds 24%, 3 breeds 15%, 4 breeds 8%, 5+ breeds 14%
5. Average herd size? I broke this down into averages based on the number of breeds
1 breed 27 rabbits
2 breeds 33 rabbits
3 breeds 49 rabbits
4 breeds 74 rabbits
5+ breeds 100 rabbits
6. Average number of litters produced per year
1 breed 14 litters
2 breeds 21 litters
3 breeds 25 litters
4 breeds 37 litters
5+ breeds 60 litters
7. Average number of times you breed a single doe in one year
Once 7%
Twice 33%
Three times 39%
Four times 10%
5 or more times 11%
8. Do you raise rabbits as a hobby? 90% As a business 5% Both 5%
9. Do you Profit 7% Break even 29% Lose money 64%
10. Do you provide toys for your bunnies? 80% yes
11. Exercise? 73% yes
12. Do you require a license as per the Animal Welfare Act? None
12a. 6% have had problems with zoning.
12b. The problems include: Numbers restrictions, zoned against, 50' distance from any residential use, neighbor complaints about odor, breeding permit, not allowed to compost waste on property
13. Demand for pet rabbits? Low 51% Moderate 44% High 6%
14. Do you provide written care instructions? 90% yes
15. A take back policy? 88% yes
16. Average number of pet rabbits you sell:
1-10 48%
11-25 30%
26-50 14%
51-75 1%
76-100 1%
100-150 4%
200+ 1%
17. How many do you sell to a pet store?
0-will not sell to a pet store: 63%
1-10 23%
11-25 10%
26-50 3%
51-75 0
over 75 1%
18. Average price for a pet rabbit $15-$20
19. Average price for breeding or show stock $33-$65
Pet Owner Survey Results (10/98-8/99):
Length of time owning rabbits:
45% 0-2 years
17% over 2-5 years
27% Over 5-10 years
8% over 10 years
Where did you get your rabbits:
32% a pet store
27% a breeder
15% Animal Shelter
6% Rescue group
15% Gift or other
4% Stray
Where would you get your next rabbit?
33% Animal Shelter
42% Breeder
10% Rescue Group
7% Pet Store
7% Other
*Of respondents who answered yes to knowing the number of rabbits their shelter takes in:
half said they would get their next rabbit from a shelter or rescue group
44% said their next rabbit would come from a rabbit breeder
None chose a pet store for their next rabbit
76% of the respondents are not members of HRS. Only 24% are
13% are members of ARBA
Do you think breeding & showing rabbits is wrong? 11% yes
Do you think raising rabbits for meat is wrong & should be abolished? 39% yes
Do you believe there is a pet rabbit overpopulation crisis? 39% yes. Unfortunately it appears that the propaganda campaign run by rabbit rightists has worked since 75% of respondents do not know how many rabbits their local shelter takes in.
Do you know how many rabbits your local shelter takes in per year? 25%-yes 75%-no
Are your rabbits spayed or neutered? 44% yes 56% no. I had expected more rabbits to be altered. In addition 40% of respondents who believe in a rabbit overpopulation don't have their rabbits spayed or neutered. Only 79% of the HRS members have their rabbits spayed/neutered despite the groups adamant stand on no more breeding.
Are your rabbits kept indoors or out? 58%-in 20%-out 22%-both. 94% of owners who keep their rabbits indoors are not members of HRS, so I guess that blows the theory out of the water that HRS "invented" the house rabbit. That and the fact that ARBA publications from prior to the HRS book contained information about litterbox training, bunny-proofing, and keeping rabbits indoors.
What are your favorite pet rabbit care books? 51% none, 9% Hop to It, 3% Lops As Pets, 6% Rabbits by Pavia, 31% other (misc titles that didn't garner a high percentage of responses), 3% New Rabbit Handbook, 3% Dwarf Rabbits by Wegler, 2% Vet Guides, 2% Rabbit Production, 2% ARBA Guidebook,
Favorite Rabbit magazines? 58% None, 12% Rabbits Annual, 10% Domestic Rabbits, 8% Rabbits Only, 3% RNRQ, 3% HRJ, 3% Dwarf Digest, 2% Minilop Advocate, 1% Hollander. What is surprising is that so many have no favorite magazine, also interesting is that most HRS members didn't even list HRJ as a favorite magazine, only 11% of HRS members listed HRJ as a favorite magazine. It was nice to see RNRQ on the list, hopefully more pet owners will give that new magazine a try.
Do you feed rabbit pellets? 99% yes
Do you support breeder licensing? 42%-yes, 32%-no, 26%-not sure Again breeder licensing doesn't ensure breeders are responsible which was the comment given for 'why'. Breeder licensing is also a way for animal rights activists to eventually do away with pet ownership
Respondents that were HRS members: 68% said yes to breeder licensing.
Do you know any breeders? 38%-yes 62%-no
Have you ever been to a rabbit show? 30%-yes 70%-no
What statements about breeders do you think are accurate regarding the majority?
Breed for temperament and health as well as to the standard 51%
Breed & show rabbits for enjoyment 62%
Are responsible and educate buyers 44%
Care about their rabbits and provide toys & exercise 29%
Are greedy & raise rabbits solely for profit? 9%
Are to blame for rabbits ending up in shelters 15%
Breed rabbits with health problems or genetic defects 8%
If you compare some of the answers with the results from the breeder survey you will see the unfortunate misunderstanding some pet owners have about breeders. For example 8% of the pet owners think most breeders breed rabbits with genetic or health problems but from the breeder survey none chose breed rabbits with genetic problems and 94% of breeders said they consider health an important factor when breeding.
Do you know how many rabbits your shelter takes in each year?
25%-yes and 75%-no. Only 16% of respondents saying they know the number of rabbits their shelter takes in also said they believe there is rabbit overpopulation.
What Health problems have your rabbit(s) had? It took alot of time to count and calculate this but here are the results according to survey respondents:
34% reported 1 or more health problems in their rabbit(s), 66% reported no health problems.
Of the 34% that reported a health problem 61% reported multiple health problems.
Now let's look at the percentage of those who reported health problems and bought their rabbit from the following sources:
Animal shelter or rescue: 47% reported health problems
Pet Store: 33% "
Other (stray, gift, etc): 30% "
Breeder: 24% "
Now a look at the types of health problems reported:
*Note that there isn't a way to determine if the problem was diagnosed by a vet or based on the owner's perception of the problem. Although some respondents did mention what their vet said.
Mites 11%
Hairball 10%
Snuffles/URD 10%
Malocclusion 9%
Cancer 9% (57% of this number reported Uterine Cancer)
Pasteurella 9%
Injury (cuts etc) 9%
GI stasis 6%
Other 6% (included a host of diseases such as stress, cataract, boils, depression )
Arthritis 5%
Bladder Stones 5%
Abscesses 5%
Fleas 5%
Kidney disease 5%
Conjunctivitis 5%
Heart problems 4%
Wry Neck 4%
Urinary Tract I 2%
Diarrhea 2%
Stroke 2%
Liver disease 1%
Thyroid 1%
Gas attacks 1%
Allergies 1%
Staph infection 1%
Urine Scald 1%
Cysts 1%
Please note the very heavy anti-breeder sentiment of some of the respondents who were members of House Rabbit Society and other "rescue" groups. We will start with a response from an individual who is listed as the contact person on the MA HRS chapter site, must not have realized I recognized the e-mail address. Also note that I have not applied any spell checking to the comments, not enough time. After reading these responses you should understand why I don't support the so called "rescuers" and the groups they belong to. I also do not believe breeders can ever work with people like this who are so full of anger and hate.
(PET1) 14 years
(2) MA
(3) pet stores, rescue orgs
(4) no
(5) I don't breed and don't advocate breeding or showing personally. - more
interested in family companions/pets adn the responsible care of them than any commercial uses over all.
(6) yes
(7) I agree with their philosophies - rabbits should be indoor family
companions, sapying and neuterting, rescue and shelter efforts, education efforts. (Uh if you know abou themn why is the book noticibly absent form your book list? philosphy difernce?) **My note- the book is absent because it is a list of books I've read and recommend to pet owners, that particular book didn't impress me in the least therefore it's not on my rec. list)
(10) Not currently
(12) yes
(14) yes
(15) Most of it is personal conviction adn my view of animals - no ne had to convince me I think breeding for the sake of breeding and money making is wrong. I think showing for the sake of pretige/money what not is wrong. I end up having to clean up onteh "dump" end adn se the unmber sof rabbits who come into shelters or are caught stray - same with cats and dogs. There are more rabbits than there are homes for them this is my own definition of "over population". I dont personally liek the concept of animal ownership or using animals for personal gain. That is my main objection to breeding and showing. I didnt asnwrhte meat wquestion becuase I'd feel liek a hypocrate saying no. I don t eat rabbit and I'd liek to not see them used for meat but at the same time I do eat other meat. I don t think it is a necesary dietary need in the US (more of a money making thing), but in other cultures rabbits may be a more primary source of meat or even just food in general. Everythig is !!relative - even breeding is relative - but int he US it's not necesary to survival adn commerical uses - it's more a personal gain issue than anything else.
(16) yes
(17) yes
(18) inside
(19) yes
(20) yes
(21) Purina regular
(22) dont have bag or in memory
(23) Pet Supply Store
(24a) on
(25) yes
(26) If it's done right and there are the resources to enforce it I think it owuld help put unscrupulous types out of business or at least make it harder for them to operate. Facilites should be healthy, animals should be healthy and breeders should be responsible for all animals welfare. With that many naimals it is import to ensure that they are healthy and well cared for and the breeders are giving out proper education and resources to people who aquire animals from them. Good legislation should ensure that animals will be treated humanely.
(27) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think all breeders or industries which house many naimals should be regulated to ensure humane treatment of those animals that they are p[roperly cared for, facilites are cleanand healthy animals are healthy etc - this is not specific to rabbit breeders IMHO. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(28) no
(29b) on
(30) yes
(31) to an extent
(32) HRS, shelter or rescue org
(33) I'm not interested in breeding so I'm looking simply for a rabit as a companion animal - which means I m not looking for any certain specific breed or pedigreed animal or show quality animals - any breed of rabbit will do, I also see how many abandondent rabbits there are and the lack of good homes. Shelter rabbits are in most danger of being euthanized for no good reason other than lack of space -but may make great companions of just given the chance.
(36) Liek everything - some are good some are bad. There are some very kind hearted responsible breeders around who care where their rabbits end up and who properly educate people. I'm not an anti-breeder fantic but I do encourage people who are just looking for house pets to go the adoption/rescue/shelter route just due the sheer numbers of abandoned rabbits out there. I dont think the responsible breeders are the main problem it's the lack of educations adn knowlege given to people at pet stores, impulse buying, breeders who are more interested in making money than making sure their animals are properly cared for and dont dispense very good info as well. I don t liek commercial uses of rabbits adn otehr animal. I personaly would not engae in it and i would not advocate it or support it but I won't smear people who have difernt views who are running a responsible operation adn truly care for adn love their animals.
(37) Education to fgenral public about having rabbits as pets - they can be litter trained, they are social, they can live indoor and be part of teh family, talk about the persinalty of rabbits. People interested in pets may not necesarily be all that interested in breed standards they are more intersted in personality of rabbits, and behvaior what swill a rabbit be liek in my house? ARBA can advocate the responsible "owner" model to people whoare interested in pets. I think of ARBA as primarily a breeder's organization rather than a pet person's organization becuase they'reinfo os more geared to breeding and showing rather than companion animals - so offering more info about what rabbts are like as pets would be a good start and caring for rabbits as pets wuldbe a start.
(38) Maloclussion, UTI, Pasterella, arthritis, staphoreous (sp) infection, urine scald, pulled nail, neurological degenration, and one injury by electrocution
(39) yes
(40) too many :(
(42) You have alot of good info, but I have to agree to disagree on some points.
(43) website@mahouserabbit.org
-I don't breed rabbits and ARBA and their members are not pet owner or rescue friendly. They tend to bash not only HRS but private rescuers like myself as well. I would rather give my money to an organization that doesn't bash what I do.
-I do think there is a problem with over-breeding and un-regulated breeding, and I want to help.
-I'm no great fan of pedigreed breeding of anything, or showing (glorified beauty pageants). Obviously if we stop all breeding and neuter our animals there won't be any more and that's problematic. Look at a shelter after easter. overpopulation? yes. irresponsible owners? of course. but who bred the bunnies in the first place? I'm not saying NO breeding, because then we wouldn't have anymore pet rabbits. I just think people who breed should have some sort of permit and a limit of how many rabbits they can have at once.
-When they make nasty remarks against the HRS, it makes me look at them as less than good breeders. I think that responsible breeders are good. Backyard breeders who breed for profit from pet stores or just because they are too lazy to separate the sexes are morons. They are the cause of rabbit overpopulation, not the good, honest breeders.
-It disgusts me that they promote rabbits as both pets and as food. BIG conflict of interest there I would say. There *might* be a few responsible rabbit breeders, but not many. Most don't think twice about killing their overflow, denying them medical care and worse. All of the many rabbits in our area shelters are there because of typical ARBA-promoted breeding practices.
-Breeders are adding to the overpopulation of rabbits. Why should you breed rabbits when there are already so many that need to be adopted from shelters? Don't do it because they love animals, only for money. Also, I get a picture in my mind of overcrowded cages, horrible conditions, and a lot of dead bunnies.
-Because don't believe we should breed until there are homes for all the homeless rabbits. The MA breeders don't know squat about rabbits. Most are out for "the sale". They spread inaccurate information.