One of my rabbit "friends", to whom I had sold a number of rabbits, was raided for animal hoarding three weeks ago.
News reports went from a few dead rabbits to 150 dead rabbits that they were essentially removing with a shovel at the end of it.
They're thankfully not mentioning the fact that she was a breeder, probably because she never managed to get her rabbits to breed(either they didn't mature before they died, or they were malnourished and unable to conceive).
The woman refuses to talk to me - I tried to be a friend and tried to offer help, whatever. She ignores my texts, emails, phone calls. I've given up, I've made it very apparent that I just want to talk to her and hear her side of it and try to help. She can contact me now if she wants to talk to me.
I had seen her 5 days before the raid, went on a road trip with her and sent her with some rabbits. She lied to me about the rabbits I had previously sold her, as well as about her pup she had recently gotten - said they were all doing great.
I've been just sick about the whole thing. Driving myself crazy. Going to the counselor two times a week for the past few weeks. Random crying fits.
I sold this woman 29 rabbits and a ferret.
Dexter - a ferret I bought and then sold, thinking I would give him a good home but he freaked the rabbits out. I met her because a mutual acquaintance set up the sale.
Alice and Haymitch - harlequin lionheads, Alice was a girl I took in who's family had become homeless and didn't want her to live in her cage while they found a new place to live. Haymitch was a buck I'd bred, the last kit I had from my first lionhead buck Dobby.
Buttercup, Sheldon and Charlie - three of the 4 velveteens from my first litter.
Astro, Avalon, Alabaster - three of the 5 polish from my first litter.
Bonnet, Finn, Quinn, Santana and Santana's 7 kits - All gone at the same time because I was sick of the velveteens. I considered keeping Finn and Quinn, but sold them to her last minute because I didn't want to deal with their messes anymore(velveteens are very messy rabbits).
Splash and Lisa - harlequin does, though Splash was given to someone else and is alive and well. **I have spoken with this person and confirmed myself that Splash is alive and well**
Robin - a little black polish doe I picked up for super cheap. I literally only bought the doe because of the price, and I bought her full brother so had to sell one of them.
Snow, Kenya and Kenya's three 12wk old kits - these are the ones that left 5 days before the raid happens. I've been told they're in another location and are alive and well, but I don't know if I can believe it.
Batbun and Anya - Robin's brother and the last kit I had from my only polish litter. Anya had giant donkey ears so I didn't want to keep her, and my chocolate polish buck was better built than Batbun. These are also reportedly in the same location as the lionheads. They left on the same day as the lions as well.
I also want to spare a thought for Petrie, the broken orange velveteen buck I borrowed from her for breeding. He was supposed to breed the doe and leave, but he stayed for 2 weeks because he had no interest in breeding at first. He was underweight - skin and bones - and she said she had just gotten him. I wormed him and fed him up, giving him oats and BOSS, daily updates to her on how he was doing and what I was doing with/for him. I feel awful for sending him back, he was such a sweet rabbit.
I tried to contact the rescue involved, the humane society in her area and the OSPCA, none of them would give me the time of day, though they all wanted my name and address once I told them that I knew the woman involved in the case and had sold her rabbits and was trying to find out about those rabbits specifically. Obviously I did not give them that information.
I think this is the most awful situation I've ever been part of, and it just makes me feel sick, and dirty, and betrayed. I'm very seriously considering giving up breeding the small breeds, or simply restricting myself to pet only sales. I don't know that I can continue to breed and sell rabbits when so many were sold into such a horrible, short life because of me trusting someone.
News reports went from a few dead rabbits to 150 dead rabbits that they were essentially removing with a shovel at the end of it.
They're thankfully not mentioning the fact that she was a breeder, probably because she never managed to get her rabbits to breed(either they didn't mature before they died, or they were malnourished and unable to conceive).
The woman refuses to talk to me - I tried to be a friend and tried to offer help, whatever. She ignores my texts, emails, phone calls. I've given up, I've made it very apparent that I just want to talk to her and hear her side of it and try to help. She can contact me now if she wants to talk to me.
I had seen her 5 days before the raid, went on a road trip with her and sent her with some rabbits. She lied to me about the rabbits I had previously sold her, as well as about her pup she had recently gotten - said they were all doing great.
I've been just sick about the whole thing. Driving myself crazy. Going to the counselor two times a week for the past few weeks. Random crying fits.
I sold this woman 29 rabbits and a ferret.
Dexter - a ferret I bought and then sold, thinking I would give him a good home but he freaked the rabbits out. I met her because a mutual acquaintance set up the sale.
Alice and Haymitch - harlequin lionheads, Alice was a girl I took in who's family had become homeless and didn't want her to live in her cage while they found a new place to live. Haymitch was a buck I'd bred, the last kit I had from my first lionhead buck Dobby.
Buttercup, Sheldon and Charlie - three of the 4 velveteens from my first litter.
Astro, Avalon, Alabaster - three of the 5 polish from my first litter.
Bonnet, Finn, Quinn, Santana and Santana's 7 kits - All gone at the same time because I was sick of the velveteens. I considered keeping Finn and Quinn, but sold them to her last minute because I didn't want to deal with their messes anymore(velveteens are very messy rabbits).
Splash and Lisa - harlequin does, though Splash was given to someone else and is alive and well. **I have spoken with this person and confirmed myself that Splash is alive and well**
Robin - a little black polish doe I picked up for super cheap. I literally only bought the doe because of the price, and I bought her full brother so had to sell one of them.
Snow, Kenya and Kenya's three 12wk old kits - these are the ones that left 5 days before the raid happens. I've been told they're in another location and are alive and well, but I don't know if I can believe it.
Batbun and Anya - Robin's brother and the last kit I had from my only polish litter. Anya had giant donkey ears so I didn't want to keep her, and my chocolate polish buck was better built than Batbun. These are also reportedly in the same location as the lionheads. They left on the same day as the lions as well.
I also want to spare a thought for Petrie, the broken orange velveteen buck I borrowed from her for breeding. He was supposed to breed the doe and leave, but he stayed for 2 weeks because he had no interest in breeding at first. He was underweight - skin and bones - and she said she had just gotten him. I wormed him and fed him up, giving him oats and BOSS, daily updates to her on how he was doing and what I was doing with/for him. I feel awful for sending him back, he was such a sweet rabbit.
I tried to contact the rescue involved, the humane society in her area and the OSPCA, none of them would give me the time of day, though they all wanted my name and address once I told them that I knew the woman involved in the case and had sold her rabbits and was trying to find out about those rabbits specifically. Obviously I did not give them that information.
I think this is the most awful situation I've ever been part of, and it just makes me feel sick, and dirty, and betrayed. I'm very seriously considering giving up breeding the small breeds, or simply restricting myself to pet only sales. I don't know that I can continue to breed and sell rabbits when so many were sold into such a horrible, short life because of me trusting someone.
