#if you have ONE rabbit in a home environment it NEEDS companionship bc its alone
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not to keep vagueposting about animal welfare discourse, but i happened to run into one of the blogs that was shitting on scout for their cow husbandry and the shit they were saying was so fucking stupid...it was something along the lines of 'rabbits aren't social animals because their wild ancestors have a social group set entirely by mating/the HRS tries to force you to bond rabbits unnecessarily and is a peta-affiliated organization/its unnecessary to spay female rabbits because the 85% association between uterine cancer and not spaying is only supported by two studies', all of which may make sense for breeding rabbits is complete and utter bullshit when dealing with pet rabbits.
Rabbits are indeed social animals that grow anxious when alone and should have SOME form of companionship most hours of the day. This does not have to be another rabbit, and the urging to establish a bonded pair is typically done for people who are OUT OF THE HOUSE most of the day. HRS and shelters don't 'force' pairings, they encourage them because having someone around 24/7 isnt always viable in American households. When I tried to get Celeste bonded because I was worried about her welfare (this was when I was 14 and new to rabbits), both the HRS and shelters talked us out of it because she very clearly did not care about other buns, and didn't need to be bonded because there was always someone around them. But if you're a singular person who's away from home most of the time, then yes you need some sort of partner animal because it reduces stress in your rabbit.
Those social structures are ofc going to be different if you have unfixed breeding animals, but the core aspect of it is still the same. Rabbits are social animals. They are comforted by the presence of others around them, form bonds with other rabbits, and feel more secure in groups. Just because they are more territorial when unfixed (as they should!) doesn't reduce the fact that they are social prey animals, it just means that you need to keep them in different conditions than you would a fixed creature with less hormonal urges
The HRS is not aligned with PETA. They denounce affiliations with meat breeders because they're entirely based on improving the welfare of rabbits that are kept as pets. I can see why some might feel offended on their stance against meat rabbits, but rabbits are still primarily viewed as livestock, and after hearing enough comments about people wanting to eat my rabbit, I can understand why they'd be so clear on it. People are assholes about pets that are commonly viewed as feeder animals.
There is indeed a high risk associated between UNBRED unspayed female rabbits and uterine cancer. This is supported by several studies on animals with similar breeding lifestyles by multiple veterinary institutions. You won't notice it in your breeding females because the risk is SPECIFICALLY for unbred animals, aka most pets. So yes, spaying is necessary for your doe's health if you do not intend to regularly breed or have stopped regularly breeding
Even if there wasn't a very real danger to their health, you'd still need to get them fixed to reduce behavioral problems. Unfixed rabbits are much more territorial, destructive, and aggressive, making them more difficult to keep in a home environment. They will growl, they will lunge and bite (and rabbit bites are not something you want to fuck with- I have scars from Celeste's nips), they will piss and shit to mark their territory and it WILL be pungent and unsanitary even if they are litterbox trained. They can still be cuddly with you, sure, that won't reduce their value as pets, but a perpetually sexually frustrated and territorial animal is not fun to deal with and is arguably unethical for the rabbit. If you want a pet rabbit, you need to get them spayed. And I say this from personal experience- Celeste wasn't spayed when we got her, but after she did get spayed, she became much more manageable and less likely to bite. She was still manageable beforehand, but afterwards she was a hell of a lot more relaxed and not stressed
There's nothing wrong with having significantly different husbandry because you are a meat/fur breeder; unfixed animals have different temperaments, different needs, and are typically kept in different conditions that are more economically and behaviorally suited to turning a profit. But those care requirements change drastically when you have only one to two fixed animals in a home environment, which means that you cannot pass judgement on pet care requirements when you're a meat breeder, and visa versa.
#lets also not forget that this whole discourse started bc someone said that culling goat kids at birth based on sex felt wrong#and some meat breeder took it as a personal attack even though rabbits and goats are DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT ANIMALS#yes hard culling rabbit kits is necessary. but its also not a massive fucking waste when they have huge litters#if you're breeding an animal for meat and they only have one or two at a time over a span of some months then its a MASSIVE WASTE#but anyways this is about rabbits and yeah. im bitter bc i miss celeste and the holier-than-thou attitude got to me#i dont have problems with how they keep their rabbits but i do have problems with them applying farming rules to domestic pets#if you have multiple unfixed rabbits in an outside hutch then yes you need to keep them seperate to prevent breeding and stress#but they're still fine because *they know other rabbits are there*#they can see smell and hear them#if you have ONE rabbit in a home environment it NEEDS companionship bc its alone#if its unfixed then no it cant be another rabbit but it can be you. if its fixed then thats when another bun is an option#and yes they are intensely social and rabbits that do accept a partner benefit massively from it have you even seen bonded pairs#they groom each other and flop together and spend all their time with each other its def. a mutually beneficial pairing#celeste just didnt need it bc there was always someone home with us so she saw other rabbits as a threat#but if that wasnt the case then it would have been different#they arent dogs or cats!! you cant treat them as such!!#and for the record the husbandry needs of unfixed vs fixed animals is a Thing for all other pet species#or at least most of the
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