Win Excel Prizes with Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue
Burgess Pet Care are delighted to be working with Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue in the build up to Rabbit Awareness Week 2011. Fat Fluffs is a recent Wetnose Award winner, with the centre picking up the award for best Fibrevore Rescue for Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and Chinchillas.
Fatfluffs have a Bumper Bundle of Excel goodies up for grabs, including Excel Herbage, Forage, Nuggets and Nature Snacks from our Five Step Feeding Plan and if you fancy your chances of winning this prize please head over to the Fat Fluffs Blog, by clicking here.
More about Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue and Rehome
“Rabbit Rescue? I didn’t know rabbits needed rescuing!” is the most common comment we hear at Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue. Yet despite being the third most popular pet in the UK rabbits are actually the most neglected with 33,000 currently in rescue. Founded in November 2007 with the aim of being able to provide some of these unwanted animals with shelter and love before finding new forever homes, Fat Fluffs was granted registered charity status 6 months later and things have grown considerably from there. This year we were thrilled to have our hard work & commitment to rabbits rewarded, especially after such a short space of time, when we won a Wetnose Burgess Award for Best UK ‘Fibrevore’ Rescue 2011.
We currently house about 50-60 rabbits at any one time at Head Quarters and with foster carers dotted around the West Midlands & Warwickshire. Our website www.fatfluffs.com has been instrumental in achieving the recent milestone of 550 bunnies successfully rehomed as we keep it up-to-date with all rabbits currently available for adoption and we encourage past adopters to keep in touch with their bunny’s progress. We also maintain a website blog to keep followers posted of our latest news plus there are pages with current, practical information on good rabbit care.
Sadly not every rabbit that comes to Fat Fluffs can be found a new home. Some arrive with emotional issues or physical hurt that cannot be put right and we ensure that these bunnies are never put to sleep by operating a sanctuary to provide long-term homes to those needing special care or ongoing vet treatment. These rabbits live together as a big group, free-ranging the garden at our HQ for the rest of their natural lives. Those that need extra- special attention are placed in long-term foster care.
We see our responsibilities as more than just the rabbits currently in our care. By offering a rescue service people can surrender their unwanted rabbits responsibly knowing they will be well cared for and found a suitable new home. Our rehome service offers those wanting to give a bunny a second chance an opportunity to do so with full support and guidance on all rabbit welfare matters before, during and after the adoption process. Our commitment to individual rabbits continues throughout their lifetime even when they have left Fat Fluffs.
We firmly believe that rabbit welfare issues should be addressed before adoption or purchase of a new pet. At Fat Fluffs we accept as many invitations as possible to visit schools, community, church and children’s groups to educate the young and old alike of the responsibility of rabbit ownership. At HQ we provide work experience placements for college and school students in the area, as well as creating volunteer opportunities within the local community in a variety of roles including foster carers, home-checkers, event assistants and administration & rescue staff. We welcome approaches from individuals and groups within our community offering practical support and fundraising assistance to help boost both our profile and potential future income.
Fat Fluffs has a strong, bright and fun image, which we exploit at every opportunity marketing the rescue and promoting rabbit care & welfare. Almost every weekend during the spring and summer we can be found at fetes, fayres and vet open days across the Midlands. These ventures are also vital fundraising opportunities and could not be carried out without the support of a dedicated band of volunteers who regularly give up their time to help run our stand.
The continued existence and success of the charity relies completely on the dedication of its 5 trustees, all of whom have busy family lives and full-time commitments, one part-time rescue manager, without whom we couldn’t operate at the level we currently do, our bunny foster carers, who provide extra temporary homes for our rescue bunnies, plus the enthusiastic support of around 40 volunteers. We are always on the look-out for new foster carers, as our bunny waiting list grows ever longer, and also volunteers, to assist in any of the roles mentioned above, so that we can cope with the increasing demand for our services. If you think you may be able to help out at Fat Fluffs we’d love to hear from you. Email us at team@fatfluffs.com .
On a daily basis it is a huge challenge to keep the rescue ticking over, however, we aim to develop our work in future as it is imperative that rabbit rescues such as ours begin to be recognised and appreciated in the same way that those for dogs and cats are.
To find out more about Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue visit our website www.fatfluffs.com, follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=495593870485&v=wall and Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/FatFluffs .
Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue, Winners, Best Fibrevore Rescue, Wetnose 2011
