A study by Nicola Rooney (University of Bristol) et al asked 1254 rabbit owners about how they housed, fed, played with and otherwise cared for their rabbit. The good news is that “many pet rabbits were found to be in good health, had compatible companions and were provided with enriched living areas.” But there were also many areas where things could be improved.
The most common type of rabbit was a Lop, followed by Lionheads, Netherland Dwarfs and mixed breeds. The rabbits were aged 2 to almost 13 years, and most came from a pet store or a garden centre.
Housing
59% of the rabbits lived in a cage or rabbit hutch, and 28% in the house with a cage. 8% lived in an outbuilding, while almost 6% lived in the house without a cage. A handful of rabbits had no roof, but on average the rest of the rabbits had a cage height of 0.9m. The good news is that most rabbits had a denning area, some kind of tunnel or box, a platform, and access to toys. The provision of a tunnel or box is important because rabbits – as animals that are preyed upon – are fearful of open spaces and need somewhere to hide (15% of rabbits did not have this).
A sizeable proportion of rabbits (43%) had a run attached to their cage. Although most rabbits had some access to the outdoors, such as being allowed in the garden, the timing was not always the best from a rabbit’s perspective, since rabbits are crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk). Also fewer rabbits had outdoor access in the wintertime.
The minimum legal cage size for laboratory rabbits in the UK is 0.54 m2, and 0.88m2 is needed to allow rabbits to engage in normal behaviours. Just over a quarter of pet rabbits in this survey did not have cages this size. Rabbits also need enough vertical space to rear up, and platforms to encourage them to climb, but 34% of the rabbits did not have a platform. The scientists say, “Recommendations for pets include that cages be sufficiently long to allow the animal to carry out three unrestricted hops, and to lie outstretched.” The height of the pen should ideally be at least 75cm.
Companions
 |
| Photos:Soultkd (top) / Robynrg (Shutterstock)
Langganan:
Posting Komentar (Atom)
|