Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert Marion Garnett, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column
WELL, that’s reassuring then. I was just looking at a website offering flying lessons (asking for a friend) and it said: “There is no lower age limit for learning to fly, nor is there an upper limit, however it is essential to be able to see out of the windscreen…”.
That must be a relief for passengers. Being able to, physically, see where we’re going is essential for some tasks, but for many aspects of life, it’s also useful to see, mentally, where we’re going – to have a vision of the future. Animal rescue centres like the National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT) know only too well the importance of people thinking about the future when they get a pet. For example, with 67,000 pet rabbits abandoned each year in the UK, it’s clear that someone is not thinking ahead.
Tinker and Thumper are just two of the hundreds of rabbits currently looking for a new home. They came into the care of the NAWT after their owner realised they couldn’t give them the attention they needed.
Caring properly for rabbits does take time. The RSPCA estimates that to care for a pair of healthy rabbits takes at least an hour a day or 10 hours a week. Daily activities include providing food and water, cleaning the toilet area, basic health check, grooming and spending time with them.
One of the key aspects of keeping rabbits is deciding on their living accommodation. The message, as always, is “A Hutch Is Not Enough”.
Rabbits must be able to carry out their natural activities such as running, digging, jumping, hiding and foraging. You can find creative examples of rabbit housing and other information about rabbit care on the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund’s website, rabbitwelfare.co.uk.
If you are interested in homing Tinker and Thumper, see nawt.org. uk. They must be homed together. Rabbits suffer if kept alone and should be kept in at least friendly, neutered, pairs.
During November, NAWT will have a Remembrance Tree at its rehoming centre in Tylers Way, Watford, where, in exchange for a donation, you can hang a card in memory of a loved one.
With Remembrance Day coming up, it’s time to remember not only people but also animals who have been killed and injured in wars.
In order to remember these animals, Nowzad, a charity which helps animals in war zones, produces special poppies to be worn alongside the British Legion poppy. For details, even if it’s for next year, see nowzad.com.