Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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July 2012
Shelter buns need greens Fur protesting on Chapel St Rabbit Run need help A Hutch is not Enough campaign Life at the Do Hop Inn Encephalitozoon Cuniculi
Fresh serve: Leigh Munro feeds a rabbit at the Keysborough animal shelter Time poor animal lovers are sendnig meals on wheels tto hungry bunnies at the Keysborough Animal Shelter. Online shoppers are using the internet to send fresh veggies right to the door of the Australian Animal Protection Society. Scores of rabbits are now sometimes lucky to enjoy crisp, fresh bok choy, baby carrots, wombok, chicory, radish tops and other leafy greens. Rabbit attendant Leigh Munro came up with the idea to promote the shelters homeshop on the AAPS website. A lot of people are keen to do their bit and dont mind paying for the peace of mind of helping out orphaned animals, but they just dont have the time to personally get involved. They know rabbits are particulaerly hard to rehome yet still need very fresh greens every day for their health. We are getting top quality produce straight to the door, which the rabbits really appreciate. Arthur Galan uses assorted rabbit, particularly rex rabbit, fox and raccoon, all imported from China where humane treatment is non existent. Freedom for Farmed Rabbits have been tackling stores that sell fur since 2011 with great success. Many of the stores have now stopped stocking fur items due to public pressure.
www.aaps.org.au
www.freedomforfarmedrabbits.com
Were dedicated and its a passion, but we dont necessarily have all the expertise in running a charity so we need people that can help us and guide us in the fundraising and funding side and all that come with it, she said. Were just trying to take bunnies off death row, care for them and re-home them. The pair have stopped taking in bunnies and are working hard to get their current group of furry animals out of harms way and ready to go to good homes. To make the decision to stop taking them in and to face the reality we might have to sell the property and close the orphanage permanently is just terrible, she said. We just want to make sure there are things behind us that can stop the whole thing from collapsing so we can fund it without going through our own personal finances. Anyone who would like to help can contact Judi and Bryce Inglis at Rabbit Run-Away Orphanage on 9751 1229.
VICTORIAS one and only dedicated rabbit rescue is facing closure and could potentially leave hundreds of bunnies without a place to go. Olinda based Rabbit Run-Away Orphanage is in dire need of funding and donations, requiring about $100,000 to stay afloat. Heartbroken owners Judi and Bryce Inglis said running the not-for-profit rescue service on a full-time basis had put them under a lot of financial strain, and years of putting their own money towards the cause has finally caught up with them. The pair, who are two of three educators for the House Rabbit Society, need about $30,000 for their special needs bunnies and to desex the current lot, and also $70,000 to remain on their current property. Ms Inglis said she and her husband held the charity close to their hearts and put all their efforts towards helping rabbits and educating the public, which has also been to their detriment. Every time a bunny is sick or needs to be de-sexed, if the money isnt in the charity account, we just throw our own money in and thats how we came into such an unstable financial situation, she said. The charity needs to now take a step up and support itself. Ms Inglis appealed to other rabbit and animal lovers to show their support and help bring the cash-strapped charity back into business. She said they needed people from all sorts of backgrounds to help out, such as those with time to spare who would like to volunteer and those with expertise in running charities and fundraising. She said more volunteers would alleviate the constant pressure on her and her husband, which would give them the opportunity to find full-time work and pay for their house.
www.rabbitrunaway.org.au
The campaign A Hutch is Not Enough.was started thanks to the Rabbit Welfare Association in the UK. The campaign is directed at people who still dont realise what rabbits need to lead full and contented lives and should not be left isolated and forgotten in a backyard hutch. They have a brilliant video too. You can see it here on Youtube - http://youtu.be/m4z_Mrg-lpc
www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk
EC tests
Recently we took Saffy, Finn & Tinkerbelle to the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic for a blood test to check whether they are carrying the parasite Encephalitozoon Cuniculi.
Missy
After last months life saving surgery for Missy, we are happy to report that she is still fabulous & doing super well!!
Saffy & Finn (the fuzzlies) The Melbourne Rabbit Clinic are undergoing a study on healthy rabbits without any symptoms of EC to see how many actually carry the parasite. Results next month!
Ginger
Tinkerbelle
Hugo
Ginger had a recent checkup due to his teeth issues. He has a reoccurring molar spur that grinds down into a very nasty point. Its been 9 months and now its reappeared. Not too bad really. Goes to show a good hay diet can keep molar spurs down quite significantly!! Anyway, he will be booked in soon for a molar trim to grind down that nasty spur. Fortunately, we have caught it just before it caused any ulcers or pain inside the mouth.
Indoor bunnies means a second moult in the middle of winter so it was inevitable to have a sick bunny at some stage. Hugo was moulting and didnt feel well one night. Critical care feeds and fluids and he was fortunately back to his happy self the next day. Just in time to boss his sister Ruby & mum Lucky around!
Encephalitazoon Cuniculi
www.melbournerabbitclinic.com
What is EC?
Encephalitozoon Cuniculi is a single celled organism that commonly infects rabbits. It has also been detected in rodents, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, sheep and other animals. EC is also recognized as an opportunist parasite and can infect immunocompromised humans (humans at risk include AIDs patients, patients undertaking chemotherapy, children and the elderly). Rabbits are infected through ingesting or inhaling the spores (that are passed in the urine of animals with active infection) or from the mother during pregnancy. In studies in other countries (eg. UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, Czech Republic) it has been reported that 40-70% of rabbits have this organism. Not all rabbits with the infection will show clinical signs, about 40-50% of infected rabbits showed clinical signs at the time of the studies. This means that some seemingly healthy rabbits harbour this parasite and one study did show that of healthy rabbits suffer from active infection. There has not been a study to investigate the prevalence of EC in pet rabbits in Australia. Only studies involving wild rabbits in Victoria in 1980 and Western Australia in 1997 were conducted with 0% and 25% of the rabbits with the organism found respectively.