Rabbit Haven reports that Copper, the rabbit saved from euthanasia, is settling in nicely at his new permanent home with the rescue. Experienced bunny volunteers are already making progress getting Copper socialized with humans. If all goes well, they hope that after he’s neutered, he will form a bond with a spayed female rabbit as well.

From their press release:

On Monday, November 23, 2009, Kathleen Olsen, Executive Director of the Tacoma Humane Society, agreed to allow Rabbit Haven of Gig Harbor, WA., to take Copper. Copper was picked up and brought to Rabbit Haven by Sue Brennan, the rescue’s founder. “We are thankful that we could work with the Tacoma Humane Society to find a solution for this very famous rabbit,” said Brennan. “The Tacoma Humane Society does wonderful work and has found homes for many bunnies and other animals, and we’re grateful for what they do. At Rabbit Haven, we have bunny specialists well-equipped to handle even the most terrified and anxious rabbits, who sometimes bite out of fear and because they’ve been so mistreated in the past. Copper is a healthy, rambunctious teenage rabbit who will get the love and care that he needs to turn into a good house bunny.”

“This was a potentially sad story that had a very happy ending,” said Brennan. “House rabbits are wonderful, intelligent pets with great senses of humor. They can be litter-trained, do tricks, and more and more families are finding out how fun it is to share their homes with a house rabbit. We hope that Copper’s story will inspire more people to learn about house rabbits, and to support the work of animal shelters.”

Copper has already started to show progress at Rabbit Haven. Under the care of highly experienced rabbit experts, he has even started to ‘purr’ when held (rabbits purr by chattering their teeth.) At Rabbit Haven, Copper will continue receive the attention and care he needs to recover and learn to trust and socialize with humans. He will be neutered and, if possible, he will eventually be ‘bonded’ with a spayed female rabbit, as rabbits are happiest when they live in pairs and groups. Rabbit Haven will continue to work with local rescues to find homes for abandoned and mistreated rabbits.

For more info, visit Rabbit Haven’s website.

Copper purring in the arms of Chris, one of Rabbit Haven’s most experienced volunteers.

A story about a rabbit scheduled to be put down after biting a shelter volunteer has gathered attention from around the world. Copper the rabbit was living at the Pierce County Humane Society in Tacoma, Washington. A few days ago, he bit a volunteer so severely she needed to seek emergency medical care.

The shelter decided Copper must be euthanized. Although scheduled for death yesterday (Sunday), the unavailability of a vet to perform the euthanasia procedure bought Copper one more day. After an outpouring of protests and pleas from rabbit advocates worldwide, the shelter officials finally agreed today to let Rabbit Haven of Gig Harbor, WA take Copper in as an alternative.

For more info, see:
KATU.com
KomoNews.com
TacomaKomo
Rabbit Haven

Megan from Luv-A-Bun has kindly shared an update about the 34 rabbits they rescued in Lake Worth, Florida:

The babies are 4 weeks old in the pix and the adults are doing fabulously after everything they went through. Notice the bunny that has a heart on its side!

We have a pair traveling to a rescue in TN this weekend via the Bunderground Railroad and another pair going to a rescue in Tampa Thanksgiving weekend. It has been so heart warming to meet so many nice people who all share the same interest of helping the bunnies.

Thanks Megan and Luv-A-Bun for all your hard work!

Many of us grew up on Beatrix Potter’s classic Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny stories, and therefore equated rabbits as being native British animals. However, a new book by naturalist Christopher Lever reveals that actually European rabbits were first introduced to Britain by the Romans. By 1150 AD, the rabbit populations had stabilized, and rabbits became common dwellers on the British terrain.

For more information, see: The Telegraph.

Buy The Naturalized Animals of Britain and Ireland from Amazon »

Photo: Move your Bunny | Installation by Helene Butler

At the Rag Factory on Brick Lane in East End London, there will be an art exhibition revolving around the theme of rabbits and hares from the 9th of December (Private View) until the 13th of December. Artists have created pieces that are both figurative and symbolic in a range of media including photography, illustration, painting, sculpture, installation and videos.

According to the Bunny Show Committee:

The theme of the rabbit has been chosen for its playfulness as well as its establishment in mythology, symbolism and the History of Arts. As a symbol of luck, of the ambivalent, of procreation, of lust, of witchcraft and more, rabbits, source of inspiration for the participants of the show, have generated a diverse ensemble of works, from symbolic inspiration to figurative pieces of work.

The event will bring people together with work conceptual but nevertheless entertaining, inviting the audience to participate. The Bunny Show Committee believes that art is for everybody to understand and interact.

For more information, email thebunnyshowcommittee@googlemail.com.

I found this story on Twitter posted by @Houserabbit about Carolyn Schapper, an Army sergeant serving in Iraq, who took a pet bunny under her wing. The rabbit had been maltreated and suffered from singed fur and whiskers, and so Schapper decided to take him in. Once on base, the rabbit was giving the name, Combat Infantry Bunny or CIB (pronounced “sib”). The name is a play on the military acronym CIB which stands for Combat Infantry Badge.

As time went by in Iraq, Schapper came to realize how important her bond with CIB had become. Although she knew she could depend on her fellow soldiers, she had lacked an emotional connection to anything. CIB filled that void.

For more info, see: American Public Media.

Listen to the full story here.

A generous donor has agreed to match donations up to $5000 to the House Rabbit Society until Thanksgiving (November 26, 2009). The money raised will go towards the Emergency Rescue Grant, a program that supports shelters involved in large rescues of many rabbits.

Recently the fund benefited the Luv-A-Bun Rescue in their rescue of 34 rabbits from a trailer in Lake Worth, FL.

Congratulations to Sweet Binks of Rhode Island for adopting out its 1000th rabbit today. The lucky bunny is called Maggie.

For more info, see: Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue.