[totalnovice]

Hiya,

We went in to our local pet shop to pick up some more fat balls and bird seed and whilst we were there had a quick look at the baby bunnies and kittens (I'm a sucker for small and furry i am afraid) I noticed that two of the rabbits were mating and pointed this out to the shop keeper he replied that someone would 'get a suprise when they got their new rabbit home then won't they' and walked off! I was rather suprised and thought it was totally irresponsible.

Is there anyone i can report this to, are pet shops goverened by anyone are there regulating bodies. I would be pretty upset if i bought a rabbit and a few weeks later ended up aith a litter of baby rabbits! And i thought the shop owners response was pretty poor.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions/replies.

[joyfull]

have a word with Scabs - he might know the rules regarding this. I do know that pet shops have to be inspected by the RSPCA just to make sure they are keeping the livestock in the correct way so you could also try having a word with the local branch. When my eldest was about 10 he wanted a pet rat (we got him a lovely white one and called her sybil - too much fawlty towers watched in our house) and instead of just one we ended up with another 8 - luckily the pet shop took the babies back.

[8doubles]

BOGOF. Buy one get others free!

When they are of breeding age the sexes should be kept separate but they may have been in a single sex group already.
Randy buck rabbits are not choosy.

[mashauk]

I'd never buy an animal from a pet shop, I'm currently fostering 2 cats for the RSPCA, but there are loads of shelters with thousands of animals for rehoming, including rabbits!

[Chookiechook]

Maybe they were the same sex and just practicing   and thats why he wasnt worried??

[sneezer]

When you keep same sex animals together and this includes females, they will mimic mating this is a dominance thing and perfectly normal! I took my mice back thinking I was going to have lots of babies but they were both female!

[scabs]

It is sometimes difficult to keep the sexes apart due to space and what have you (and you'd be surprised how high a buck will jump to get into a pen full of sexy ladies...)

I have the same problem myself from time to time and although the guy's attitude may have been a bit offhand, I can understand why... We also happily take in the unwanted offspring, should it happen. I understand I may not be making myself particularly popular here. 

The RSPCA does not seem to be overly concerned with the odd mixed-sex cage (we were inspected a little while ago) as long as the animals are well cared for, healthy and happy. There's probably a bit of legislation somewhere though.

Personally, I'd be quite happy to get a rabbit home only to find out I'd actually got several! That's just me though and I can see why others might not be amused.

[Honeysuckle]

Many, many moons ago, I bought my (then) young son a pet rat.  2 days later she had 3 babies!    I went back to the pet shop just to tell them, not to complain, the response was 'we won't charge you for those ones'!  They did offer to buy the young from us once old enough but we ended up keeping them - in different cages I hasten to add! 

Could it be that the rabbit was just showing dominance and not actually mating???  OK, I'm naive sometimes......     

[CluelessCarrot]

In my experience, same-sexed animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs use this behaviour as a dominance thing

[ManicMum]

It is sometimes difficult to keep the sexes apart due to space and what have you (and you'd be surprised how high a buck will jump to get into a pen full of sexy ladies...)

I have the same problem myself from time to time

I DO hope the 2nd para is not too closely related to the first.....

[TheSpartacat]

It is sometimes difficult to keep the sexes apart due to space and what have you (and you'd be surprised how high a buck will jump to get into a pen full of sexy ladies...)

I have the same problem myself from time to time

I DO hope the 2nd para is not too closely related to the first.....

 i was thinking the same thing!! How high a wall would he jump? And that his honesty was interesting? LOL

[scabs]

Heh heh heh...