Rehoming your rabbit

Any pet should be a life-long commitment, and there are very few situations that cannot be worked with to keep a pet by your side. Millions of pets are abandoned every year, and thousands of animals are euthanized because people did not want to keep a pet they obtained within the last 5 years. Please carefully consider, research, and plan before obtaining a new pet. Pets do not understand why the people that they've bonded with suddenly disappear, and from an animal's perspective, it is extremely traumatizing. Pets are not disposable.

Moving
Rentals that allow pets are available if you give yourself enough time and work to find them. Do not give up that easily. Widening your search area can also help; while you may need to drive further, you get to keep your pet.

If you cannot find pet-friendly housing, try directly talking to the landlords to see if they are open to making an exception for you. Feel free to tell them that your rabbits will be caged. You can also offer to sign an agreement to define appropriate behaviour for your pet on the rental premises. Encourage the landlord to meet your rabbit to demonstrate his good behaviour.

Below are some links with more information about renting with rabbits.
 * The Buckeye House Rabbit Society, Libby Moore, Landlords and Lagomorphs
 * House Rabbit Society, Elizabeth TeSelle, Saying Yes to Rabbits
 * About.com, Ron Leshnower, Apartment Living With Pets

Not Enough Time
Pets require time and effort, but especially for a rabbit, it is minimal. Rabbits only require daily exercise outside their cage, food, and some social time with you. If you have a pair of bonded rabbits, they can easily amuse each other; you only need to let them out in a bunny-safe room to exercise for a couple hours a day.

Having a Baby
It is possible to have pets and children. While you may have less time to take care of a rabbit and play with him, it is still multitudes better than turning his world upside down with a new home and unfamiliar people.

Allergies
Contact your physician for a remedy for your allergies. Thousands of people with allergies still have pets. Giving up your pet for adoption could be a last option, not the physician's first. Please do everything possible within reason before determining that you must give your pet up for adoption.

Behavior Problems
Aggression is often a behavioral and not a genetic problem. See Aggressive Rabbits for more details.

If your pet is badly behaved, what are the reasons for anyone else to take the pet on? Please try to work to managing bad behaviors before trying to rehome your pet. Spaying and neutering can improve rabbit behavior tremendously when the rabbits do not have to fight with hormonal frustrations.

What to Put on an Ad

 * A good picture. Consider the background and lighting to put the rabbit in its best look.
 * Basic physical characteristics - age, weight, sex, color, breed (if known)
 * Is your rabbit spayed or neutered?
 * Is your rabbit litter trained?
 * Ask for a small rehoming fee to weed out people who are just looking for a cheap pet or a pet for nefarious intentions.
 * Give details about the personality of your rabbit to help market the bun.
 * What are its favorite toys?
 * What are its favorite foods?
 * Is your rabbit friendly with people and loves pets? Cuddly? Can it be handled and picked up?
 * Has your rabbit been an indoor or outdoor rabbit?
 * Has it had experience living with children and other pets such as dogs and cats?
 * Include if you are also giving away its cage, food, hay, and other supplies.

Places to Post Ads
Try all of these following available outlets, not just one or two. You want to gain the largest audience you can for your pet.


 * Bunspace, Rabbit Rescue and Adoption
 * relevant reddit.com subreddits (e.g. /r/Rabbits, /r/Pets, and the appropriate location subreddits)
 * Veterinarian offices (regular or exotic).
 * Shelters, rescues, and humane societies. Try both rabbit rescues and cat/dog-only rescues to ask for a courtesy listing. The worst they can say is no.
 * Craigslist, Kijiji, and other online classified ad sites.
 * Grooming salons. Even though rabbits are not usually serviced at these locations, they have a clientele of animal lovers that may be able to help.
 * Pet stores. This does not mean that you should sell or give your rabbits to a pet store or patronize a location that does so with rabbits. Instead, you should use them as another resource to post ads for a relevant audience. Pet stores are out to make a profit, and do not typically have the welfare of the rabbits in mind when they sell them. If you cannot get a rabbit rescue to take your bunnies in, keep them with you and properly rehome them yourself.

Sample Adoption Forms
Look into the adoption forms at rabbit rescues to have an idea on what questions to ask potential adopters.