TH E B U N OL OGIST

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October 2012
World Vegan Day Rabbits show their pain World Animal Day Toxic Plants Life at the Do Hop Inn Wiseman

World Vegan Day Sunday 11 November Princes Park, Carlton North 10am 5pm FREE ENTRY

Rabbits show their pain

7 September 2012 http://www.nature.com/news/rabbits-show-their-pain1.11198

Rabbits are the latest focus of work seeking to measure animal discomfort by assessing facial expressions. Matthew Leach, who researches animal welfare at Newcastle University, UK, and led the work in rabbits, has been working on facial expressions of pain in various animals since the original mouse grimace scale came out. "The only way you can alleviate pain is to be able to identify it, and to understand how much pain an animal is in," he says. "There is a broad interest in grimace scales, he notes, adding that compared with traditional models, I would argue its potentially better and faster in many circumstances. Leach's rabbit grimace scale was prompted by the Swedish government, which wanted a way to assess how painful ear tattooing a procedure commonly used to identify animals used in agriculture and beeding shows is for rabbits. The rabbit scale has significant overlap with the existing mouse and rat scales. It involves looking for changes in whisker movement, ear position, cheek bulging, nose bulging and narrowed eyes on a scale from zero to two. In the study of ear tattooing, the researchers were unable to use ear position, so the highest possible score was eight. Scores for rabbits tattooed without anaesthetic averaged four after the procedure, whereas before treatment, after sham treatment and after treatment with a local anaesthetic scores averaged less than two. The results also reflected other measurements of stress such as increased blood pressure and heart rate during tattooing without anaesthetic. Leach says that in this case, a difference of two points is a significant result.

Live music Spectacular food Speed dating Mega stalls Come along & enjoy a wonderful day out

World Animal Day

Thanks to everyone who came along to World Animal Day! We had a wonderful time as usual. We love Edgars Mission.

Toxic Plants
There are a lot of very common plants that are poisonous or dangerous to rabbits.

Onion Weed
This one is called onion weed. It is a bulb, has fleshy grassy like leaves and white flowers. The plant smells a bit oniony when crushed or broken. If your bunny eats this plant, please take him/her to an experienced rabbit vet as soon as possible and let them know that your bunny has eaten onion weed.

The Radical Rabbit table full of information and lots of things to buy

Kikuyu Grass
Kikuyu Grass is a suckering thick matting grass that used to be planted in lawns or recreational parks. Kikuyu is high in oxalates. Its not dangerous in small quantities but eaten in large quantities, it can cause kidney failure.

Edgars Missions Mission statement

Life at the Do Hop Inn

By Karen (www.boingonline.com)

It was a miracle!! They got along fabulously!!! As soon as they met, it was just meant to be and have never left each others side since.

Ally

Peter & Stuarts first date in the kitchen

October was a bit rough at the Do Hop Inn. Our elderly bunny Ally, who was doing so well, suddenly collapsed. We took him to the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic and we were hopeful that we would have a few more days with him but sadly he passed away the following day. Peter was very upset. He was very attached to Ally.

Stuart and Peter are happily living together

Winston
Mr Winston, who we adored, ended up returning to his previous foster home. In the week and a half that Winston stayed with us he became unwell. We could just not cope with Winstons surgery and recovery at the exact same time as Ally becoming unwell. Sometimes its best to know when to step back and provide the best care for the bunnies we already have than to attempt to adopt another bunny. We wish Winston the best. We are sad that we let him down but we know he is dearly loved. He even has a girlfriend now!!

Peter gives his little Ally toy a kiss

Peter didnt want to eat the first day so we quickly rearranged his room and set up a new spot next to Stuart Little hoping that perhaps he may feel better near another bunny. Stuart is completely blind and over ten years of age but agile and very healthy for his age. Stuart lost his friend Peanut a number of years ago but has never warmed to another bunny since. Until. Peter! On the day we set them up next to each other, things seemed to be very friendly. I decided Id see how they went in person.

Wiseman
by Jacqui www.bigearsanimalsanctuary.com

I was amazed at how the aged look fell from his face and was replaced with a youthful looking bunny who appeared to be 5 or 6 months old. As he has relaxed into trusting his humans he has started to shine, his personality can barely be contained within his little bunny body. He loves to sleep in the dog bag and when he crashes for a nap he really sleeps deeply. He also likes to fall asleep on his human whilst they are stroking his ears. A few weeks of inside living and a completely different bunny emerged. A strong, healthy, happy and vibrant bunny started making his presence known. He was becoming more confident and comfortable, he will leap onto laps and demand full attention and then climb over his human to find a spot to investigate or snuggle, often draped around a neck meaning we can't move until he was ready to do so. One particularly endearing behaviour is that Wiseman loves to play chasings. He will chase and chase you and then flop down for a rest. The longer he has stayed inside being spoilt the younger he has started to look. His eyes which were once dull and uninterested are now full of a mischievious glimmer. His ears stand proudly to attention ready to catch any sound. He is brave and will investigate everything even the new feral kitten which when Wiseman was first introduced to the kitten he promptly sat on top off it. I have had time to reflect on this amazing bunny and his amazing transformation. This magnificent bunny had in my opinion anethetised himself to his fate which included living in a factory farm, in crowded and shared cages, with wire floors and in a large shed. For any bunny full of life and curiosity, this type of behaviour must be one of the ways some bunnies deal with deal with their surroundings and complete lack of stimulation or care. Im not saying Wiseman is special out of all the bunnies from the meat farm, I think he is a great ambassador for what they go through and how they change their natural personalities and behaviours in order to survive the horrors of factory farm living. To me it appeared Wiseman had shut down and went day to day the same as before with each day crushing him and his personality more and more. Once freed and allowed to behave like a bunny and to have hope, a glimmer of promise in his life, he couldnt wait to re engage with the world and is doing so with much gusto. I think of Wiseman as an example of what is wrong with factory farming. He is an individual with the most engaging and wonderful personality. He was destined for slaughter at 12 weeks of age and for no one to have ever seen beyond him as a commodity, a product to be sold for his flesh is truly heartbreaking. When I stop to think of all the other rabbits that Wiseman is the representative of, it makes me realise how many wonderful animals are not only denied their natural lives and behaviours, but that we as people are also deprived of getting to know these incredible creatures, each with their own amazing personalities. The fact that he had to stifle his own personality and natural bunny behaviours so that he could survive his surroundings is true cruelty in my opinion. For me it is the transformation from what I thought to be an old, hearing and vision impaired rabbit that was near death to the most engaging and vibrant rabbit I have ever met that makes me smile, keeps me going from one rescue to the next and to feel so very lucky to have Wiseman in my life.

Wiseman is one of the most incredible bunnies I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Full of character to the brim and then some. We named him Wiseman because when I first picked him ou tof the rescued group he looked very old and I thought he was sight and hearing impaired, he just didnt respond to anything. I bought him inside to live because I honestly didnt think he had very long left to live. He just said in his cage, head down, didnt make eye contact, didnt interact, showed no interest in food or treats, he went about his daily duties of eating and toileting etc as if he were a robot.

As the days went by, I noticed that Wiseman started to move about more and become interested in his surroundings. It was like he had turned himself off and was now starting to re-engage with his surroundings. He started to nudge at his cage and demand pats as soon as he saw anyone. He seemed interested in his food and showed that he wanted to interact and try out new foods. It soon became apparent that he could hear and see. Where once he never showed any acknowledgement of me speaking to him or moving my hands around in his cage, I started to notice that his face seemed to change, no longer the droopy ears, his ears stood up proudly, twitching and turning to catch every movement. He started to have an interest in everything and would nudge, push and stand up to beg and ask for attention and the chance for a run around in the kitchen. Into the kitchen we went. Where he once used to sit on the couch and not move a muscle, he started running and binkying. His binkies were a bit deformed at first because I think they were truly the first binkies he had ever done. Once out and about in the house Wiseman will follow me about in the mornings literally right behind me and under my feet. When I have my breakfast I also use this time to checkout emails and Bunspace. Wiseman realised that this was a perfect time for him to try and get some pats and to sit on my lap and hope for a piece of toast.