Are there any rabbit protection laws here?

annascott

I have been put in a very difficult situation and need advice from anyone who knows about animal rights laws in Ireland.

I have recently befriended a girl from an Eastern European country. However, the last time that I was in her house, I noticed lots of rabbit hutches in the garden, each containing really large beautiful white rabbits. I thought they were pets for her/her young daughter but was told that they were 'to eat'. She told me that she has about thirty of them. Her husband slits their throat to kill them when they want to eat them. Holding back tears (I had a much loved pet rabbit as a child) I asked where she let them out to exercise, to which she replied that they did not need exercise as the object was for them to get as large as possible.

I was horrified. (1) that they are killing rabbits (2) that the poor little things aren't treated properly for their short lives.

My question is, is this illegal? Do rabbits have rights here?
I know that they are struggling to make ends meet, she has two jobs and works really hard, but I cannot let this pass without doing something. I found the whole thing really upsetting and left as soon as I could.

psychward

Theres probably no more legal protections than there would be on a rabbit farm. As they don't intend to sell them then maybe less protections.
Just because they are rabbits doesn't mean they cant be eaten as you see rabbits in butchers across the country. Maybe call the ISPCA ?

http://www.ispca.ie and ask them for an opinion

Let me know what you find out.

Chris_Heilong

Rabbits where once a common food here in Ireland up until there was a control operaton by the Government and wide spread poisoning which deformed the rabbits offspring, this led to lots of people from dropping Rabbit off the menu for health and safty concerns.

I dont think there are any laws in regards Rabbits and the most Animals grown for meat get very little exercise as free range is a lot more work unfortunatly.

psychward

Maybe theres some law guiding how they are put down ? Animal cruelty is illegal

e.g

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0322/1224292775484.html

falabo

that really is awful . . .

Bullseye1

Not sure if it's illegal to keep so many in one place but it sounds like how Muslims or Jews would kill their animals and how we would have many many years ago. There maybe health issues if it's in a built up area. You need to contact the relevant authorities as it sounds like they may not have sufficient space.

As a kid I loved eating rabbit but they were all entirely shot wild rabbit.

Sigma Force

Where did she get them from in the first place? You need to find out if they were gotten through a pet shop or a rescue in the first place and then approach the supplier so they know what's going on.

I'm not sure it's illegal as this country keeps battery hens and not many people seem to flinch at buying cheaper battery eggs...sadly.

I'm not sure there is anything you can do although how the rabbits are kepts could be important if they are in dirty or cramped conditions. The laws here are so rubbish at the moment that I doubt there's anything an spca could do to stop them but you can inform them to see.

People keep chickens to kill and eat although personally I couldn't keep rabbits to eat I guess it's not much different to some people. But I do believe if you are going to rear your own food you need to provide the best life including excercise etc. chickens are excercised and still eaten.

But you have to ask yourself which is worse breeding for meat or going out and shooting rabbits in the fields. All around me local people shoot rabbits and I doubt very much that they always use the meat and many are probably just dumped in the bin.

It's not a pleasant thought but it's a common thing to raise rabbits in other European countries, my grandparents used to raise them in Germany, my dad took one on as his pet..until it ended up in the pot..talk about scarring a child for life...(well actually he's a (retired) trained butcher and chef so guess he got over it).

Birdnuts

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

Rabbits where once a common food here in Ireland up until there was a control operaton by the Government and wide spread poisoning which deformed the rabbits offspring, this led to lots of people from dropping Rabbit off the menu for health and safty concerns.

.

I assume your talking about myxomatosis - this is a disease and not a type of poison(it is illegal to poison rabbits). It was introduced in many countries to control rabbit numbers. Their are still outbreaks in Ireland but these days much fewer rabbits die as levels of resistance are now much higher.

planetX

I knew a norwegian who did the same.
Same person who looked me up and down when I said I was vegetarian and exclaimed 'but you look healthy':mad:
At least she faces up to where meat comes from... not like people who buy sanitised packages and live in denial.

comongethappy

My uncle's mother was a lab technician, and used to breed rabbits for pregnancy testing in the hospital she worked in. They gave all the females to the hospital, and ate all the boys (that weren't required for future breeding). He and his brothers thought they were pet rabbits, which they were told just kept escaping. They didn't know they were eating their rabbits, they were told it was chicken. That lasted until he was cleaning a chicken on his grandparent's farm and asked why it looked so different from the chicken he ate at home. Needless to say his parents had to tell him where his pets actually went

mikemac

There's something honest about raising and killing your own meat.
Better that then buying godsknowswhat from Thailand on a supermarket shelf
Though it would be better if they had room to exercise.

Just farming realy, go back a few decades and many more did it and I've read threads here about people in estates with hen houses.

Talk to the local authority, see what they say

Bullseye1

If I had land I'd love to rear my own animals for food and grow my own vegetables as you say there would be nothing to beat self sufficency. I'm all for organic and free range.

kildare.17hmr

dont see anything wrong with what they are doing or the way they are killed. Cows and sheep suffer the same faith in in many slaughter houses around the country.

kylith

It might be nice if they had a run to stretch their legs in but I see no difference between this and keeping chickens and wringing their necks when they're too old to lay. Rabbit is a very healthy meat, and this woman is 1) being realistic about where her food comes from and 2) saving herself a pretty penny on her food bills.