Animal Welfare Organisations
Let’s start this article with the organisations that are trying to help stop cruelty. These organisations don’t only focus on rabbits, they cover every animal imaginable, because after all, every animal you can think of is part of trade, experimentation, collection or testing.
There are lots of animal welfare organisations, and we can’t list them all here, so we have chosen ones that we think are important to know about because they care about the welfare of rabbits.
Four Paws
Four Paws is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. They have offices in in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam.
They say: “Over six billion animals are exploited for fashion and textiles every single year. Animal-free clothing is the ultimate kind and cruelty-free fashion and making carefully considered decisions is a great step towards achieving a kinder wardrobe. There is no cruelty-free way of keeping Angora rabbits. Make a conscious choice about the clothes that you wear and #WearItKind by avoiding Angora wool products.”
Take a pledge to #wearitkind and help work towards an animal-friendly fashion future.
PeTA
“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organisation in the world, and PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally.” They stand by the concept that animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.
PETA has changed some very important ways that industries treat animals, from getting Budweiser to stop cutting off Clydesdales’ tailbones, stopping camel rides of a cruel organisations around the Giza pyramids, persuading University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) Medical School to stop maiming animals and getting Walmart to stop having in store breeding dog stands.
House Rabbit Society
House Rabbit Society’s mission is to educate people on the proper care of house rabbits, and that rabbits in shelters need good homes.It is based in the USA, however it is possible to become a chapter. “House Rabbit Society believes that all rabbits are valuable as individuals, regardless of breed purity, temperament, state of health, or relationship to humans. The welfare of all rabbits is our primary consideration… We are against the exploitation of rabbits in any and all forms… Domestic rabbits are not the product of natural selection, but rather of human interference by means of breeding programs, and the product is a human-dependent animal who needs protection. It is therefore a human responsibility that these animals be cared for in a manner appropriate to their needs.”
Rabbit Run Away Orphanage
This sparked Rabbit Run-Away Orphanage to become the first Australian chapter of the House Rabbit Society. Based in Olinda, Victoria, Rabbit Run-Away Orphanage cares for many rabbits who need a forever home.
What does the RSPCA do?
RSPCA and it’s member societies enforce state and territory animal welfare legislation through inspecting the issue. When concerns are reported, RSPCA inspectors have the power to investigate and prosecute those involved. They can:
- enter property
- seize animals
- seize evidence of animal cruelty offences
- issue animal welfare directions/notices
- issue on-the-spot fines; and
- initiate prosecutions under animal welfare legislation
Before they prosecute anyone they will try to resolve welfare issues with education and advice. Actions like seizure of animals is only reserved for serious cases of mistreatment.