Almost 3 years ago I adopted a holland lop bunny from a RI rabbit rescue. He is neutered and everything. He is spoiled rotten and gets great care. I have gotten into spinning and I have been looking for some angora rabbits. I decided to check the website for the rescue that I got my rabbit from and notice that they have 4 of them, all spayed and nuetered, all white, and two males/two females. I write them an e-mail explaining that I have adopted from them before 3 years ago and they all remember honeybun. I tell them that we live on a small farm now and that we are looking for angora rabbits for fiber. They have pictures of my rabbit on their website, since I've had him, they know he's well cared for. I touch base with them at least twice a year on how he's doing. I figured this could be a win win situation. They state right on their site that angoras are harder to place because most people looking for a pet don't want to deal with the fur. So I figured I could free up some space in their shelter and prevent myself from going to a breeder and buying rabbits (which the rescue doesn't want you to do, god forbid right?). I don't want to breed them, I just want their fiber so it works out great for me that they are already spayed and neutered. I get a nasty response that the rescue is always instantly on gaurd whenever someone asks about angora rabbits for fiber. They come right out and say to me "I really hope Honeybun isn't outside". And that "We feel it's not humane for angora's to grow their fur and it's not humane to shave them or pluck them, only to use scissors". They said there would be no problem if I wanted to bond my rabbit to an angora and keep it inside but if I want to put them in cages in my barn it's a big no no. Now, their shelter is a barn at the owners farm. I had to call them on that in my reply. I understand that they want pet homes for these guys, but if it means them sitting around at the shelter forever (there are still rabbits in their shelter that were there when I adopted mine 3 years ago!) then you would think that they would want to move them along to free up the space. These rescues are really getting to me lately. How on earth is it inhumane for a angora rabbit to grow it's fur? I could see leaving it completely coated outside on a 100 degree day as being very inhumane but they meant "at all".
This has been a common rant on other rescues as well. It appears that there are people so caught up in their ideology that they have lost focus of their mission. They're supposed to *place* animals, right? I dunno, I think I am an excellent pet owner, but from the stories I've heard, I suppose I couldn't adopt a dog because he wouldn't sleep with DH and I! Your heart is in the right place. Perhaps you could put out the word - with friends & online - that you have a home for an angora. Good luck!
Some people lose track of reality,and for some strange reason animal rescue groups seem worse than most for this
That's just nuts!! Sometimes these rescue groups go a little too far over the edge. They should be happy to place the animals with good homes! How happy can the animals be living in a shelter??
I soooo completely understand where your coming from. I wanted to adopt some rabbits from the rescue that we sell hay to but she's only willing to adopt them to you if you keep them inside. I was like but you keep them in an unheated barn! Do these rescues listen to themselves? It's no wonder they're overloaded with animals. They won't let anyone adopt the poor animals
Im so sorry to hear that "rescues" drive me crazy. I do hope you find an angora soon, I just sold 2 of mine only kept one. Looking for a male for her now otherwise Id offer you one if you were not to far. Good Luck finding one.
Sadly that appears to be a quite common occurence. My son had to put down 2 labs last year due to old age. They were 15 years old and the vet said it would be the best thing to do for the dogs. He has another lab that he got from a rescue center several years ago. They now will not give him another one because of where he now lives not having a fenced yard. His house sits over a 1000 feet from the closest road and he always spend an enormous amount of time boundry training his dogs. Didn't matter, no fence no dog.
"SOME" people who start rescue organizations have very unlrealistic goals for their rescues. If its OK for the rescues to live in an unheated barn for 3 yrs in their care and its humane then why wouldnt it be OK for one to live in a barn in someone else's. The problem is Rabbits used to be a wild animal that is now a farm animal and in recent history has been turned into a pet. I think it can live a productive humane life either way. As a farm animal or a pet. I love my rabbits and they are great pets, they eat drink, have clean housing and shelter and get held and petted every day. They are also a sustainable part of my farm. They live outside and I dont think they mind at all. If someone said I was abusing my rabbits by not letting them sleep in my bed I would tell them to go ck into a luny bin. THESE ARE ANIMALS, they were meant and designed by god to live outdoors. If you want to keep your rabbits in your house and pamper them for your enjoyment more power to you, thats wonderful but I believe a rabbit can be just as happy in a nice hutch in a barn. Just my opinion.
Why explain that you just wanted the fiber? Just neglect to give the whole truth... you want to have some lovely soft angora bunnies for pets
So sorry you can't get the fiber rabbits for their fiber. That's crazy. That is like the restrictions on milk goats at some shelters. You can buy them, but can't breed or milk them. What? Or hens...they don't want to adopt them out if you have a rooster. They are out of touch with reality and the animals suffer because of it. Our local humane society became so over crowded with dogs this past winter because the adoption fees were so high and the restrictions so crazy. The dogs were tied outside in the snow and cold because their building was over crowded. The end result was that they were ordered to euthanize 100 dogs. These dogs could have been adopted out over the years, but the restrictions turned people away. These same people have no farming knowledge but have forced people to surrender horses and livestock because they felt the animals weren't being cared for. Then they campaign them on the local news begging for money to feed them and for vet care. But the foster families never see a penny of the money collected for feed. And it's not uncommon for them to take them away from the foster families that want to adopt them so they can sell them for a higher price to someone else. Around here humane society has a bad name and reputation. The problem is that they have too many rights and not enough education in animal husbandry. Sorry about the rant, it's just frustrating.
