Why It's Illegal To Sell Baby Bunnies As Pets In Alabama

Wow! That's a long title isn't it?!  It was so long I started falling asleep reading it! See, here I am, taking a snooze!

Everyone should have leopard print sheets!

We've been asked why it's illegal to sell baby bunnies as pets in the State of Alabama, so I'm interrupting my nap time to tell you! In case you missed it here is the actual law:

Code of Alabama, Title 3; Section 3-1-15: It is unlawful to display, sell, offer for sale, barter or give away any baby rabbits, or baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl, but not including parrots, parakeets, and canaries, as pets or novelties, regardless of whether or not such rabbits or fowl are dyed, colored or otherwise artificially treated.

Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as prescribed by law.

(Acts 1959, No. 104, p. 590.)

I made the background color pink so it would stand out!

There are several reasons why this law was passed way back in 1959. It was partly because people used to dye the bunnies (and chicks) and obviously this was cruel. That usually doesn't happen anymore, but the other reasons for the law are still with us. 

Every year, starting as early as the day after Easter (or the day a carnival that gives away bunnies as prizes leaves town) the shelters get flooded with discarded rabbits. Did you know rabbits are the third most often surrendered pets at shelters across the country? Right behind cats and dogs!

Too many people buy them on a whim and then they realize how much care bunnies need...and then Little Brandon or Brittany gets tired of the bunny...but Mom and Dad still need to clean the litter box. Uh oh! In addition, they quickly find that those adorable baby bunnies grow up fast...and get hormonal....and they aren't cute anymore when they are spraying, biting and mounting your feet.

It's also hard to sex baby bunnies (because male baby bunnies' testicles don't descend until they're older) so every year we hear of situations where someone has gotten two "girls" and surprise! Soon after there is a litter of babies and a month after that, another one (because people don't realize rabbits can get pregnant the day they give birth!) If the bunnies can't be sold until they're older it's so much easier to tell the boys from the girls, so these mistakes don't happen.

Many of these poor bunnies wind up in the shelter or worse, get dumped in the wild.** This  is not only bad for the bunnies but causes problems for the shelters and people who rescue rabbits - problems that cost the taxpayers quite a bit of money.

Another issue is that often babies are sold too young to be away from their mother, especially at Easter. Some sellers want them to be as tiny and cute as possible so people are more tempted into an impulse buy. Not all sellers do this of course, but there are enough that it is a problem. We've had quite a few fosters come in who were bought at four to five weeks old. Many of them have had gut flora problems from being taken away from their moms too early. If a bunny's gut flora isn't well developed they can have ongoing intestinal issues and even die!

I hope this explains some of the reasons for this law. Remember, think carefully before you get a bunny! In my next few blog posts I'll be going over some things to think about before you get an adorable bundle of cuteness like me!

Byeeeeeee!

Love from your roving lagomorphic reporter,

Mrs. Kitty Brighton

**(If you have a chance check out the horrible problems Las Vagas is having with released domestic rabbits!)

I'm Taking Over!

Let me introduce myself! I'm Mrs. Kitty Brighton and I'm the Education Bunny for Huntsville Friends of Rabbits (HFR). We're a small group of rabbit lovers in the Huntsville, Alabama area. For about 15 years we've been helping bunnies by rescuing unwanted rabbits and educating the public on rabbit behavior and care. We've worked very hard to make life better for bunnies around here!

Unfortunately, over the last couple of years the people running HFR - my secretary (Ruth) and chauffeur (Dr. Bruce) - have had to retire from active rescue work because of health issues.  They felt very sad about this. So I asked them: why not switch our focus completely to education? Why, I could do this work myself! 

There are lots of cute bunnies on the Internet (hello Mr. Bigglesworth!) but they don't really talk about bunny care. And there are all kinds of sites where you can get information about rabbits (good, bad, and very, very bad!) but none are actually written by rabbits themselves. My dream is to give you both - a cute bunny (ME!) and good info about rabbit care. After all, I am the official HFR Education Bunny!! Who better to educate you about bunnies than me?!  

Ruth agreed to help me by taking dictation and we're ready to tackle the new Huntsville Friends of Rabbits blog! You can expect blurry photos (I have trouble sitting still), great tips on rabbit care, the answers to your behavior questions, interviews with some of the wisest bunnies on the internet, and a very enthusiastic guide to all things lagomorphic.  I'll be rabbiting on about all sorts of things! Some of my posts will be just for your bunny. Let's talk rabbit to rabbit about what bugs you most about your human!

So let me tell you about myself. I'm a gorgeous Mini Rex rabbit with fabulous black and white markings (did someone say cow bunneh?) I look wonderful in tutus and I wear my tiara a bit askew! 

I was found wandering loose in a trailer park after my former owner's trailer was repossessed and she moved without taking me. She just dumped me there! Can you believe it? **

Fortunately for me, some ladies from the local cat rescue came to the trailer park to help with stray kitties. They were friends with my secretary, and they knew that no bunny should be wandering around outside. They took me home and kept me for a few days until HFR could fit me into foster care. In their honor, I named myself Kitty. Without them I don't know what would have happened to me!

My first weeks in foster care were a blur of delicious food, a warm place to sleep, my very own pink litter box, and perfecting my gracious ability to greet every visitor that arrived. I also had several vet visits, including a mysterious one where I was given some gas to breath, after which I fell asleep and awoke with an incision on my stomach. Yes, dear Readers, I had been spayed!***

All was going well, until my staff started to realize that my spay had not calmed me down the way they had thought it would. In fact, I was the biggest bundle of energy they had ever encountered in a rabbit. Something was obviously wrong. I went back to my vet for further testing, and it was discovered that I had a problem with my thyroid. No wonder I was so hyper!

From that point on it was apparent that I would be hard to adopt. Who would want a hyperthyroid bunny? Well, don't you worry, because I came up with the perfect suggestion! Why couldn't I just stay at the foster home as a permanent resident, and occupy myself as the official HFR Education Bunny? With my super-outgoing personality, my fearlessness, my limitless energy, not to mention my velvety Rex fur and gorgeous face, I would be the perfect rabbit for the job!

So here I am! I've loved being an Education Bunny. Over the years I've visited schools, the library, the Botanical Gardens, and our local radio stations - all kinds of people who want to learn about rabbits. I'm even good with groups of children! Now that I'm getting older (I'm eight years old) I don't enjoy these visits as much as I used to, and I'd prefer to carry on with my job by dictation.  I've started writing posts for our Facebook page, and now, here I am, writing this blog! 

In my spare time, I like to check out new toys (I hope to do toy reviews!), rearrange my living space, try on new outfits (I plan to do an entire post on my tutus), and think about new things that I need to teach people about bunnies. Oh, and eating! I love to eat!

Well, that's enough about me for now! Do you have something you would like to know about rabbits? A question you'd like to ask? Just leave me a note in the comments! Until then, byeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Your roving correspondent and lagomorphic reporter,
Mrs. Kitty Brighton

**This is honestly a true story!!

***We'll talk about why you should spay/neuter your bunny very, very soon!!