Don’t Get a Rabbit Unless You’re Ready to Be Outwitted by One

Scroll through TikTok for 30 seconds and you’ll find a reel of pastel-coloured pens, hay racks styled like spa shelves, and a bunny doing zoomies across someone’s minimalist living room. It’s cute. It’s calm. It’s curated. What it’s not is honest.

Because behind every “aesthetic bunny setup” is an animal who has been misunderstood, mishandled, or eventually discarded by someone who mistook them for a decoration with ears. And what those videos never show is the aftermath: the chewed wires, the medical emergencies, the discarded individuals in cardboard boxes outside rescue centres.

The problem isn’t rabbits. It’s us.

And it starts with one toxic idea: that rabbits belong in our homes.

Rabbits aren’t toys, accessories, starter animals, or low-maintenance companions. They are prey animals. Complex, emotional, intelligent prey animals. And the fact they’re still treated like children’s throwaway entertainment in pet shops and Easter photoshoots is disgraceful.

Most people have no clue what they’re doing when they bring one home. They buy a cage, a bag of nuggets, maybe a novelty tunnel, and assume that’s enough. It isn’t. It never has been.

They didn’t ask to be commodified. They didn’t ask to be locked up. They didn’t ask to be owned.

But the industry sold you a myth. And the TikToks sold you a fantasy.

The endless stream of bunny content is a big part of the problem. Those fluffy, clean, carrot-nibbling angels in mood-lit enclosures? They’re snapshots.

They don’t show:

🐰 The hundreds of droppings left behind every single day.

🐰 The half-eaten skirting boards and £80 vet bill for gut stasis.

🐰 The depression and lethargy when a solitary rabbit is kept alone.

🐰 The fact that most rabbits don’t want to be picked up, cuddled, or dressed up for a ‘cute’ video.

What they do show is an idealised version of rabbit guardianship packaged like a lifestyle trend. And people fall for it. Every day.

The result? Rescues overflow. Abandonment rates spike after Easter. And yet again, the rabbit is blamed for not being what the human wanted.

This is not hypothetical. This happens constantly.

We took in two rabbits, Neo and Treacle, who had been dumped in a box outside a pet shop. Someone decided they were “too much trouble” and just walked away. That’s how disposable rabbits are to some people.

So we brought them home. And of course we fell in love. We made space to accommodate them. We watched them learn to trust humans again, watched their bond with each other deepen, and saw their unique personalities come through. Treacle, the gentle giant. Neo, the bold explorer who thinks nothing is off-limits, NOTHING!

They’ve chewed fixtures, sabotaged furniture, torn apart carefully laid plans, and found ingenious new ways to access places they’re not supposed to go. We’ve adjusted everything again and again. And we do it gladly. Because they’re not a problem to be solved. They’re family now.

But here’s the thing: even loving them deeply doesn’t make them easy. And they never should have been dumped. But they’re just two of thousands who are.

So let’s get into it. Here’s what you’re actually signing up for:

You need (at least) two - Rabbits are social animals. Alone, they wither. But bonding is complicated, time-consuming, and sometimes unsuccessful. You’re not getting one animal, you’re getting a bonded pair, or you’re failing them from day one.

They need space. Not a hutch. Not a cage. No corner of a child’s bedroom. Rabbits need space to run, dig, binky, stretch, and rest. That means either a free-roam home or a room-sized enclosure. Not a “3-tier hutch with ramps.” That’s not the freedom they need.

They need stimulation Bored rabbits are destructive rabbits. And they’re not “naughty”, they’re doing what any intelligent being does when confined and unstimulated. They’ll chew, dig, and rearrange your life if you don’t provide enrichment, activities, and time.

They poop constantly. Yes, they can be litter trained. No, it doesn’t stop the scattered droppings. It’s a form of communication. If a handful of tiny poops on your carpet horrifies you, you’re not ready for rabbits.

They will destroy your things. Wires. Rugs. Doors. Plaster. Clothes. Books. Plants. Corners of rooms you didn’t even know they could reach. Rabbits chew. Bunny-proofing your home isn’t optional. It’s the only way to survive.

They’re not cheap. They’re classed as exotics. That means fewer competent vets, higher prices, and more complicated care. You’ll need to spay/neuter, vaccinate, monitor their teeth, and keep an eye out for the infamous gut stasis, which can kill in hours. No warning. Just silence and a rabbit that stops eating.

They live a long time. 10 to 12 years. Sometimes more. That’s not a “short-term commitment.” That’s longer than most people stay in the same relationship. If you’re not planning a decade ahead, don’t bring them home at all. Why so many end up abandoned. The same story plays out over and over again.

“We didn’t realise how much work they are.”

“Our child lost interest.”

“We don’t have time.”

“They smell.”

“We’re moving.”

“They weren’t friendly.”

Translation: We bought a living being without bothering to learn who they are.

And so the rabbit, confused, displaced, traumatised, ends up at a shelter, on a classified site, or worse, in a bin or field. Abandoned for being exactly who they are.

If you’re still reading, good.

This isn’t a lecture. It’s a warning. Don’t bring rabbits into your home unless you are prepared to completely reshape your idea of what a companion animal is. They’re not here to please you. They don’t owe you cuddles. They don’t come “pre-socialised.” They are individuals. They need space, freedom, patience, understanding, and commitment. Most humans aren’t ready for that. And the animals suffer because of it.

So what should you do?

Don’t buy from breeders or pet shops. Ever.

Don’t get rabbits “for the kids.” Rabbits aren’t for children.

Don’t trust the TikTok. Ask rescues, not influencers.

Adopt if you’re sure, but know what you're taking on.

Support rabbit rescues. Share, donate, foster, volunteer.

Rabbits aren’t bad companions. They’re brilliant, funny, expressive, curious, stubborn, gentle, chaotic beings. Neo and Treacle remind us of that. Every day with them is work, and every day is worth it to give them the life they deserve.

But for people looking for convenience over commitment? You’re not right for them.

Rabbits deserve more than a hutch. More than a trend. More than being discarded because someone got bored.

If you can’t give them the life they need, don’t bother. Let the rabbits be rabbits. Not projects. Not props. Not purchases.