Almost four months after the entry into force of the Law on the Protection of Animal Rights and Welfare, the scourge of abandonment continues to affect the species whose commercialization continues to be allowed in stores. This is the case of the rabbit, an increasingly popular pet in homes. The situation is “unsustainable,” denounce the main entities in charge of rescuing them.
“They abandon them on public roads, whether in parks, in garbage containers placed in their own cages or carriers or even in police stations,” details Tere Rodríguez, head of the Association for the Protection of Exotic Animals of Catalonia (APAEC), which assures which welcomes one or two new rabbits into its facilities every day. The number does not stop growing, but not the adopters, so the entity has been forced to exceed the maximum number of animals it can house in its zoo. “We have permission for 30 rabbits and we have 52,” Rodríguez says with resignation.
The saturation is also causing new animals to be housed in small cages waiting to occupy one of the center's enclosures. “There was a time when there were no more meters and we had to leave a rabbit in a shower tray for a few days,” laments the person in charge of the shelter, located in an industrial estate in Baix Llobregat.
The La Vedruna shelter, in the same region, is also overflowing with rabbits. “Every week several arrive, although it depends on the season,” explains the president, Mònica Junyent. The peak period of abandonment comes after the Christmas holidays, when the rabbit becomes just another child's gift. Their price is usually quite affordable – they are offered from 10 euros – but not their maintenance. The cost of food amounts to about 50 euros per month, to which is added the price of castration - starting at 200 euros -, vaccinations and veterinary care that their delicate health often requires.
“Since we started, in 2018, we feel that rabbits are very undervalued animals in our society,” says Junyent, “there is no publicity about the problem of the large number of abandonments that this species suffers or the absence of public aid. ”. In this sense, he assures that the shelter has not received a single subsidy since it opened, so it is financed exclusively by donations.
The discrimination suffered by rabbits with respect to dogs and cats is evident: while many municipalities bear part of the expense involved in rescuing the latter, the same does not happen with rabbits. “It is unfair because it is the third most abandoned animal after dogs and cats,” says Junyent, but “there is no control”: microchipping them is not mandatory nor is their census required.
“We ask for a municipal and political commitment to cover rescues and measures to alleviate abandonment,” declares Rodríguez. At the moment, according to the entity, Barcelona and L'Hospitalet are the only town councils that have signed an agreement with a shelter to collect lost or abandoned exotic animals from their streets. “It is important to remember that, as pets, city councils must be responsible for their collection, management and adoption, being affected by the zero sacrifice policy,” say sources from the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, which At the end of 2026, it must publish a list of the species that will be considered companion animals, as is already the case with dogs, cats and ferrets. The forecast is that the most common breeds of rabbits in homes – such as toy, angora, belier and lion's head – will be included in this list.
Eric Martínez, head of the El Cau del Bosc shelter, in the Bages region, indicates that part of the problem lies in the fact that "the town councils do not recognize them as pets", which means that non-profit entities end up assuming all the bills. Even, according to the Alara Exotic Association, there are some pet stores that have even referred customers who are dissatisfied with their rabbits to this entity. “They profit and we put the money out of our pockets,” he complains.
Although it can hybridize with the wild rabbit, which destroys crops, the survival of the domestic rabbit is zero. The reason is that they have been modified “to make them cute, not capable,” argues Yolanda Rodríguez, president of the National Association of Rabbit Friends (ANAC). Traits that please humans, such as their striking colors and drooping ears that make it difficult for them to see and hear well, make them easy prey for predators.
