Call to ban bunny sales as owners abandon thousands following an explosion in breeding during lockdown

• A petition calling for rabbit breeders to be licensed has collected 55,000 names

Charities are demanding a ban on the sale and breeding of rabbits as rescue centres become inundated with them. 

Thousands of bunnies have been abandoned following an explosion in breeding during lockdown and as the cost-of-living crisis means owners are unable to afford to keep them. 

Last year RSPCA centres saw the number the rabbits being dumped rise by nearly 50 per cent compared with 2021. 

A petition by the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund has collected 55,000 names calling for rabbit breeders to be licensed, as dog breeders need to be. 

It also wants a requirement that purchasers know the sex of the rabbit they are buying in a bid to limit unintended breeding. 

Thousands of bunnies have been abandoned following an explosion in breeding during lockdown

Director Rae Walters said: ‘Rescues are inundated, people are abandoning rabbits every day and releasing them into the wild. We ask people to stop breeding and selling them while this crisis is going on, or things will only get worse.’ 

One centre is trying to rehome 160 rabbits found at a Leicestershire property, due to overbreeding. 

The owner started with just four rabbits. In 2021, the PDSA vet charity found that a third of the 900,000 pet rabbits in the UK were not neutered.

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