What would you do? (approached by a buyer)

I occasionally sell some of my rabbits. A few I have sold to people starting their own small rabbitry for meat, a handful for pets, and a couple litters to a local feed and seed. The local feed and seed just went out of business (so sad ) so I have lost that option entirely. I was just approached by someone wanting to buy any and all rabbits I can produce at the 3lb mark... for use in a college classroom for dissection. I don't know what to think. The paranoid side of me wonders if this is some crazy ARA setting me up (I only do public transactions anyway, there's no way I would give away my home location to any stranger), the concerned side of me wonders if the process will be humane?, and then I wonder if this might be the small income opportunity we have been looking for. Ugh. I just don't know what to think. I have more rabbits than we need for meat at this point, and the little extra money would be nice (not sure on price though, I need to crunch some numbers). I think it would cut back on feed costs with a 3 lb goal vs. the 5 lb "meat" mark - those last few weeks they eat a LOT!

Honest opinions? It totally caught me off guard, so i really don't know what to think. I guess those "specimens" have to come from somewhere, right? Just never thought about where that somewhere might be... the cow eyeball we did in HS I just assumed came from a meat processing place, but it's a little different for the smaller animals I guess (like the cat a friend did at her school).

If it was legit, I'd be all over that opportunity. I seriously doubt schools would use inhumane methods for dispatch. Since the buns have to be intact, I imagine they would probably use CO2 or else inject something.


Which collage was it?

You should be able to get the school info and then call and verify the story?

If you're serious about protecting your location, be sure not to use your land-line to phone them. I'm not sure about cell phones, how difficult it is to trace them to an owner.

Using rabbits for dissection doesn't seem to me to be any worse than using them for meat. But naturally in either case you want to be sure they are dispatched humanely.

Are they willing to pay a decent price? If you are meeting them somewhere, can you avoid letting them see your car's license number? There are just so many ways to trace people these days that you have to be super-careful if ARAs are a possibility.

If the college is local to you, call the school/department directly and ask to come and take a tour. While there you can find out more about what will happen with the rabbits.

That's the biggest hang up is verifying the legitimacy of it. I am not sure if it's just a single college, or if he is a supplier for colleges on a larger scale? Going to talk more details tonight, so we'll see! I found an ad that I think is his offering $8-10/rabbit, and the location would be for a local college just north of us.

Thankfully my cell is in my MIL's name so it won't direct anyone to our house. Good point about the license plate, I hadn't thought of that!

I'm pretty sure there are USDA guidelines for 'Rabbitry-Registration' before legally
being allowed to sell your stock like that. Double-Check. You don't want
them breathing down your neck.

grumpy":ouw0jf70 said:

I'm pretty sure there are USDA guidelines for 'Rabbitry-Registration' before legally
being allowed to sell your stock like that. Double-Check. You don't want
them breathing down your neck.

Click to expand...

Hmmmmm... it appears so. I hadn't even thought of that! Are you registered since you have such a large volume for meat? What does that entail? (going to start searching some, but I'm tired tonight so I doubt I will be up much longer).

I did talk to the guy today and it sounds legit (to me anyway, if there are any red flags please let me know!). I guess they inherited his wife's grandfather's 30 year old business and are attempting to expand (currently they just do dogs, cats and rats I think he said). He has called numerous rabbit breeders in the area and majority have hung up on him once he says what he is wanting them for. I asked about the euthanization (sp?) process and it is a CO2 chamber, then they inject them with formaldehyde and different colored dyes in the veins. I guess there is a pretty large demand for rabbits, but he can't find a good supply of them. He would take any and all that I could get them. I mentioned that it would likely be a while until I had any more litters because of the heat and he said another breeder mentioned that trying to find them in the summer would be tough, but she didn't say why (I explained heat sterility). He actually said he didn't realize you could eat rabbits, which I guess isn't too terribly surprising.

DH is kind of excited about the potential opportunity. Here I was thinking about downsizing because we don't need that much meat, and trying to sell the extras is a pain - now he's talking about housing the bucks in the basement for summer breeding :roll: :lol: . <br /><br /> __________ Fri Aug 05, 2016 9:43 pm __________ <br /><br /> Here is the bigger place he mentioned (that isn't their company) - $50 per rabbit!?! Wow! I could make a whole lot more money just figuring out how to do the whole process on my own :mrgreen:

http://www.carolina.com/preserved-organ ... s/10756.ct

This is the name he gave me for their business, so at least there is something by that name in that city! One step closer...

http://www.yellowpages.com/burlington-n ... bs-3485581

He did say they don't yet have a website...

heritage":tm2k8drm said:

grumpy":tm2k8drm said:

I'm pretty sure there are USDA guidelines for 'Rabbitry-Registration' before legally
being allowed to sell your stock like that. Double-Check. You don't want
them breathing down your neck.

Click to expand...

Hmmmmm... it appears so. I hadn't even thought of that! Are you registered since you have such
a large volume for meat? What does that entail? (going to start searching some, but I'm tired tonight
so I doubt I will be up much longer).

Click to expand...

No... not registered with the USDA... However, I am registered with my state. Each state is
different so I'd recommend checking with your officials. I've been raising and selling meat
rabbits since the mid-70's. I've seen a lot of changes and few for the better.

Grumpy.

The more I read, the more I don't want to touch it with a 10 ft. pole :x Which is hugely disappointing b/c it would be a nice way to earn a little extra money.

What I have found (just two small excerpts):

Laboratory Animal Dealers: Anyone importing, buying, selling, or trading laboratory animals, either directly to research institutions or through other dealers, must be licensed. This licensing requirement includes "bunchers," who supply dealers with dogs, cats, and other regulated animals collected from random sources; it also includes research institutions (except State or Federal facilities) that sell or trade surplus animals to others. Annual license fees are based on the amount received from the sale of regulated animals less the amount paid for these animals.

The rabbit business is exempt from regulation if the rabbits are intended only for food or fiber. If any rabbits are designated for use in the pet, exhibit, or laboratory-animal trade, the business is regulated.

Click to expand...

The regulations PDF is 157 pages long :shock: Trying to skim through it, but from what I have read on other sites it's pretty tough standards and would be pretty expensive for start up to implement it.

Soooo... I could sell for food or fiber, but that's it. <br /><br /> __________ Sat Aug 06, 2016 1:11 pm __________ <br /><br />

grumpy":2xbz1amc said:

heritage":2xbz1amc said:

grumpy":2xbz1amc said:

I'm pretty sure there are USDA guidelines for 'Rabbitry-Registration' before legally
being allowed to sell your stock like that. Double-Check. You don't want
them breathing down your neck.

Click to expand...

Hmmmmm... it appears so. I hadn't even thought of that! Are you registered since you have such
a large volume for meat? What does that entail? (going to start searching some, but I'm tired tonight
so I doubt I will be up much longer).

Click to expand...

No... not registered with the USDA... However, I am registered with my state. Each state is
different so I'd recommend checking with your officials. I've been raising and selling meat
rabbits since the mid-70's. I've seen a lot of changes and few for the better.

Grumpy.

Click to expand...

One thing I was reading from a few years ago when the regulations were going through some changes is that it was at the hands of PETA, that explains a lot :? .

So frustrating... it's not like rabbits are a huge money maker or anything, to add in all those extra costs would be pointless... and I don't want to open a can of worms with the other animals on my property as well (chickens, dogs, guineas).

Phew, if it were me I would so stay away from that. Apart from this legal stuff, and with it being a real business with lots of crap coming with it (taxes, insurance, official suitability of your facilities, etc. etc.) imho you would heading for becoming a rival to other businesses and prime target for ARAs. I mean, he sure has to keep records to proof that he gets his animals from legal sources, he can't just buy them in parking lots from people with huge sunglasses, false beards and covered license plates...
At least here, that business would be regulated in every detail.

It's really to consider if that is worth the money. 50$ per rabbit - I can't even imagine what hassle makes that price.

Ok, I may be a bit paranoid about things like that. :roll:

Anyway, if you consider it, I would ask for references, and what requirements exactly you would have to fulfill. What paperwork, any inspections, etc.

Paperwork is critical insofar as I must be able to match which rabbits went where,
and to have my numbers sync up with my agents' paperwork. Thus far we've
had one issue out of 700+ head sold. (Not bad.. )

I'm subject to inspection at any time and have had two so far. They're always
unannounced, but the inspector is fair and congenial.. But, my paperwork is
always up to snuff and the rabbitry is well-maintained and neat in appearance.
It requires more effort but I'm compensated for it. Plus, I've eliminated 95%
of walk-in buyers which you always run the risk of letting them on the place.
The remaining 5% are long-time, well-known customers I've known for years.

Grumpy.