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13 abandoned rabbits were found at an HDB void deck in Clementi Avenue 4 on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Joint rescue

The case was first alerted to House Rabbit Society Singapore (HRSS) by one of their foster parents at 10:45pm.

HRSS promptly contacted a fellow rabbit welfare group, Bunny Wonderland, to rescue the rabbits.

The rabbits appeared to be in bad condition, with matted fur stained with pee, and gave off a foul smell.

HRSS said the rabbits were "cramped into two huge boxes". As one of the boxes was left open, rescuers were worried that some rabbits had hopped off from the box, so they looked around for other rabbits, but did not find any.

"The rabbits all appeared scared and mostly stayed still inside the boxes," they said in their Facebook post.

HRSS’s president, Betty, told Mothership that the rabbits stayed in her house for the night while they planned their next course of action.

"Infested with mites, parasites and all sorts of infections"

The rabbits were taken to the vet the next morning. In total, there were seven male and six female rabbits who displayed an obvious lack of care, and suffered from different medical issues.

In its Facebook post, Bunny Wonderland described that all the rabbits were "super matted, super dirty, and infested with mites, parasites and all sorts of infections".

In order to provide a better environment and attention for these rabbits, the male rabbits will be taken in by Bunny Wonderland while the female rabbits will be taken by HRSS.

Bunny Wonderland has since called for fosterers to assist with helping these rabbits on their road to recovery.

Meanwhile, HRSS has reported this case to the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) as an abandonment case, and is working closely with them to provide more details.

Social media contributes to problem of impulse buying

Rabbit welfare organisations such as HRSS and Bunny Wonderland said they have contributed to the decrease in abandonment cases in Singapore over the years.

HRSS, for instance, has been actively educating the public on deterring impulse buying. They also help with most rehoming cases to prevent irresponsible abandonment. Just last year alone, HRSS took in almost 100 rabbits.

However, the animal welfare organisation foresees a spike in potential impulse buying of rabbits in the upcoming year.

They added that social media has played a large role in the impulse buying of rabbits over the last few years as it only highlights how "cute" and "pretty" these animals are, while failing to mention that rabbits are "a 10 year commitment and require day to day care and monitoring".

Rabbits also need a proper housing environment and veterinary care which can be costly.

Top image by Bunny Wonderland/Facebook