Thursday, 22 June 2023

Domestic rabbits

Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (17:46): (319) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Agriculture, and the action I seek is for domestic rabbits to be properly protected under Victoria’s new animal welfare legislation. To many Victorians, including my colleague Mr Limbrick, rabbits are companions, yet our animal protection laws fail them in almost every way. Rabbits are sociable and clever animals that quickly develop anxiety and psychological issues when confined to small spaces, which they usually are. With appropriate room and enrichment, rabbits are playful and can live up to 15 years, much like our cats and dogs. Yet unlike other companion animals, rabbits are offered no legal protection under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 and therefore councils do not include them in their domestic animal management plans. Welfare standards are voluntary, outdated and vague, leading to extreme cases of neglect. Despite advice from vets and welfare experts, anyone can breed and sell rabbits from their home without a permit or registration from the council.

In 2021 the RSPCA received over 200 reports of poor rabbit welfare. The level of cruelty is staggering. While cats and dogs are now no longer able to be sold in pet shops, rabbits remain at markets and pet stores across the entire state. Bunnies from stores are generally not vaccinated or desexed and are sold carelessly while promoting uncontrolled backyard breeding. They are continuously bred, sold and abandoned, and this government has no way of knowing how many exist here in Victoria. Dedicated rabbit shelters cannot accommodate the number of abandoned companion rabbits, resulting in high euthanasia rates. Rabbits who are turned away from shelters are often dumped in parks and wildlife reserves, where they interact with wild populations, causing devastating environmental harm, including the spread of disease. Rabbits as companion animals also suffer through exposure to myxomatosis, and whilst a vaccination exists, it is not available in Australia. Most rabbits die painfully of haemorrhage and/or seizures within 10 to 14 days.

In 2021 Animal Liberation New South Wales exposed the horrific treatment of rabbits raised for meat at some of the last remaining farms in Victoria. Despite hours of footage backed up by expert vets, the department cited an apparent lack of evidence of cruelty and claimed no breaches to the relevant code of practice. I have seen this footage myself, and no-one would want a rabbit or any animal to suffer in this way. This further demonstrates how many rabbits are not only disregarded and let down by policy and legislation here in Victoria but actively treated cruelly. My office receives a flood of requests for support for rabbits, and I hope that the minister will ensure that they are adequately protected under the new animal welfare legislation in Victoria.