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Protect Rabbits From Neglect Driven By Profit

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Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site

Rabbits are complex, social animals, not impulse buys for pet shops to sell and replace. Take action for the lives of rabbits everywhere.

Hand holding a fluffy gray lop-eared rabbit inside a brightly stocked pet store.

Rabbits are often marketed as cute, quiet, easy pets. That image hides the truth. Rabbits need daily hay, safe indoor housing, exercise, social care, enrichment, grooming, and access to veterinarians who understand their needs.1 They can live for more than a decade when properly cared for, which makes each adoption a serious long-term commitment.2

Pet Shop Sales Put Rabbits at Risk

When pet shops sell rabbits, they encourage fast decisions based on cuteness instead of preparation. Many buyers do not understand the cost, space, diet, behavior, and medical care rabbits require. Rabbit advocates have warned that pet store rabbits may come from breeders and may be housed in poor conditions before sale, without proper hay, space, or care.3

Abandonment Is the Predictable Result

Animal advocates report that rabbits are among the most surrendered animals at shelters, often after families realize too late that they are not low-maintenance pets.2 Community rabbit owners have also raised concerns about rabbits kept in cramped store enclosures and later dumped once the novelty fades.4

Adoption Is the Better Path

Pet shops do not need to sell rabbits to help families find them. They can partner with shelters and rescues instead. MSPCA-Angell supports legislation that would prevent pet shops from selling rabbits unless they work with shelters or rescue groups.5 Petco’s return to an adoption-only rabbit policy shows that major retailers can choose rescue partnerships over retail rabbit sales.6

Pet shops should stop selling rabbits and help homeless rabbits find prepared, compassionate homes through adoption.

Sign the petition to demand pet shops end rabbit sales and support rescue-based adoption instead.

More on this issue:

  1. PETA Staff, PETA (No date listed), "They May Be Cute, but You’ll Regret It if You Buy a Bunny—Here’s Why."
  2. ngferraro, cuzrabbits (17 September 2019), "So you want a rabbit? Here is an ethics comparison on where you buy."
  3. Oliver, BunSpace (26 July 2012), "How to stop a pet store from selling rabbits."
  4. USA TODAY Staff, USA TODAY (24 September 2024), "Bunny buyer's remorse leads Petco to stop selling rabbits, focus on adoption only."
  5. MSPCA-Angell Staff, MSPCA-Angell (Updated 2026), "Banning the Retail Sale of Certain Animals in Pet Shops."

The Petition

Dear Pet Store Executives and State Lawmakers,

I am writing to urge you to stop the retail sale of rabbits in pet shops and support policies that replace rabbit sales with adoption partnerships through shelters and rabbit rescue organizations.

Rabbits are not simple starter pets. They are social, sensitive animals who need daily care, proper food, safe housing, exercise, enrichment, grooming, and access to specialized veterinary care. When pet shops sell rabbits like casual retail products, many people buy them before they understand the responsibility involved.

That system puts rabbits at risk.

Too often, rabbits are purchased because they are small and cute, not because a family is prepared for a long-term companion animal. Once the reality of rabbit care becomes clear, shelters and rescues are left to handle the consequences. Rabbits may be surrendered, neglected in cages, kept outdoors in unsafe conditions, or abandoned where they cannot survive.

Pet shops can be part of the solution. They can stop selling rabbits from commercial breeding pipelines and instead work with shelters and rescue groups to promote responsible adoption. This model helps homeless rabbits find families who have been screened, educated, and prepared. It also gives retailers a humane way to serve customers without creating more demand for breeding and more pressure on rescues.

Lawmakers can help by passing and enforcing laws that prevent pet shops from selling rabbits unless they partner with shelters or rescue organizations. Retailers can act now by adopting the same standard voluntarily.

This is a matter of basic compassion. Rabbits are living beings with complex needs, not seasonal gifts or impulse purchases. A business model that depends on selling vulnerable animals to whoever walks in the door is not humane, and it is not necessary.

Please end the retail sale of rabbits in pet shops and support rescue-based adoption partnerships instead. These actions will reduce neglect, ease the burden on shelters, and ensure a better future for all.

Sincerely,

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