There are several places where you can get your pet rabbit from: you can buy a rabbit from a rabbit breeder or a pet shop, or you can adopt a pet rabbit from a rescue centre.
Rabbit Breeders
There are many hobby or show rabbit breeders, usually specialising in a particular breed or rabbit. Good breeders usually do this because they enjoy owning and showing rabbits, and carefully plan their breeding to produce healthy baby rabbits.
If you want a pedigree rabbit of a particular breed, then you should go to a rabbit breeder to get your pet rabbit as they specialise in particular rabbit breeds, and breed them for breed standards. You can also get detailed information about peculiarities of the breed of rabbit you are interested in from a specialist breeder.
When visiting a rabbit breeder, you should ask to see how their rabbits are kept to make sure they are well looked after. Good rabbit breeders are usually more than happy to oblige, and most insist on ensuring that you are going to be a good enough owner for one of their rabbits before selling you a pet rabbit.
Pet Shops
Many pet shops sell rabbits, which may have been bred by private breeders but are more often bred by commercial breeders that only sell to pet shops. Often, pet rabbits sold by pet shops have not been handled much, and do not come with the specialist knowledge that you may get from a rabbit breeder.
When buying a pet rabbit from a pet shop, it is important to be confident that the staff have a good understanding of rabbits, in particular determining the sex of young rabbits and keeping males and females separately. If not, you may unwittingly end up with a rabbit of the wrong sex, or a pregnant female rabbit.
As with breeders, only buy rabbits from pet shops that keep them in good conditions, otherwise you may buy a weak or ill rabbit.
Rabbit Rescue Centres
The best place to get your pet rabbit from is a rescue centre. There are too many rabbits that are either abandoned or are unable to be looked after by their owners. These rabbits need new homes, and there is always a large selection of rabbits to choose from.
Most rescue centres have all rabbits they take in health checked by a vet, and the staff will be able to advise you on any specific health problems as well as the personality and temperament of their rabbits. Each rabbit has its own story about how it ended up at the rescue centre, so be careful not to feel sorry for them all and take home more rabbits than you can care for!
Rescue centres care about making sure that a rabbit and its new owner are a good match for each other, so do not be surprised if you are assessed as much as you are assessing the rabbits.
Getting your pet rabbit from a rescue centre means that you will have a pet rabbit that has been checked for suitability for you, but also you will be giving a bunny a new, happy life.
Hi, I am looking to adopt a rabbit in the near future, in particular a Lop/mini Lop. I currently I live in the Leicester area but I may be moving to London, do you know any Rabbit shelters/sanctuaries in the area? I would particularly be interested in volunteering before I adopt my own as I feel it would better prepare myself for taking care and handling my own pet. Thanks.
Hi Kate
Rabbit Rehome is a great website for finding rabbit shelters. You can also look at some rabbits that are available for adoption on the website. Volunteering is a great idea to get used to taking care of your own pet, although it is very difficult not to become attached to all of the animals that you will see.
Click on the “Rescue Centres” button near the top of the Rabbit Rehome website for a list of some rabbit rescue centres in the UK, arranged by county. The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (Tel: 0844 324 6090) may also be able to supply you with contact details for some local rabbit rescue centres.
Good luck with finding a volunteering oportunity, I’d love to hear how you get on.
Richard