One reason that so many rabbits end up in shelters is that despite animal activists’ and shelters’ best efforts to dissuade people from doing so, they purchase rabbits and chicks for their children each Easter.
Yes, they’re cute, but these are living animals, and rabbits have a lifespan of potentially 20 years in captivity.
Families who purchase bunnies because they’re cute and make adorable photographs at Eastertime end up abandoning these rabbits, which creates a whole population of hapless rabbits which need rescuing and eventually new homes.
Other times, rabbits require rescue because of hoarding situations or because they have special needs, and the people who originally had them were unprepared to care for them.
Whatever the reason rabbits end up in shelters, there are some incredible rabbit rescues in the Bay Area (California) where you can volunteer, foster, sponsor a rabbit, and even learn about the process of adopting rabbits.
Other articles you would like: Best Rabbits Rescues in the United States and Rabbit Rescues in California.
1. East Bay Rabbit Rescue
East Bay is a rabbit rescue in the Bay Area (California) that has been rescuing rabbits for over twelve years. They are run by a force made up entirely of volunteers.
On their homepage, they state that they no longer accept abandoned or rescued rabbits from the public, but only from their connections with other shelters and animal rescues.
This is because rabbits, although common enough pets, are still considered exotic animals. As a result, it’s more expensive to spay/neuter them than cats or dogs.
You can visit East Bay Rabbit Rescue to see if any of their rabbits are right for you to adopt. At the moment, you must set up a meeting for potential adoption with EBBR in advance because of cautions taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They recommend that before you purchase any paraphernalia for your new rabbit you get advice from them first about the perfect setup, especially if you’re a new bunny guardian.
All their adoptable buns are listed on the website so you can check out personalities, temperaments with other animals, and health statuses.
It even states whether or not the rabbits are litter-trained. You can also sign up to be a bunny foster parent–and of course, they always welcome financial support.
East Bay Rabbit Rescue Details:
- Location: Livermore, California
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: East Bay Rabbit Rescue
- Social Media: Facebook
2. SaveABunny
This volunteer-based rabbit rescue in the Bay Area (California) started in 1999, and since that time, they have provided life-saving help to more than 5,000 rabbits.
They work with rescues, vet’s offices, and animal shelters in the Bay Area to rescue, rehabilitate, and eventually rehome these wonderful animals.
SaveABunny’s specialty is to take in and care for rabbits with special and critical medical needs, provide life-saving treatment to them, and make sure they go on to live healthy, happy lives, or provide them with hospice care.
They also provide a safe place for rabbits that would needlessly be euthanized due to shelter overpopulation.
SaveABunny’s funding comes from charitable, tax-exempt donations in addition to the earnings from services that they provide for bunnies. These services include boarding, grooming, and selling bunny supplies and merchandise.
They’re always ready to accept foster parents for new bunnies, especially rabbits which need to heal from physical trauma as well as neglect or abandonment.
Foster parents help to socialize shy bunnies and teach them how to accept love and attention.
SaveABunny needs volunteers from time to time to help with things like outreach programs to schools, IT work, rabbit grooming and health, bunny transportation, and facility upkeep.
SaveABunny Details:
- Location: Mill Valley, California
- Phone Number: 415-388-2790
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: SaveABunny
- Social Media: Facebook
3. House Rabbit Society
Throughout its history of 34 years, the House Rabbit Society has ensured that over 25,000 rabbits across the United States have received love and care from foster families.
These rabbits had been previously neglected, abandoned, and usually scheduled for euthanasia in overcrowded local animal shelters.
House Rabbit Society’s headquarters are located in the California Bay Area, but it has members in 30 states as well as in Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore.
There is no time limit to how long bunnies stay at the House Rabbit Society. They stay as long as care from HRS foster families, vets, and volunteers is needed.
This dynamic is why foster families are so crucial. They can focus on one or a few bunnies at a time and give them all the love and attention they deserve.
The staff, foster parents, and volunteers get to know each bunny; their likes and dislikes, their personalities, who they’re friends with/bonded with, and whether they have any special needs.
They can then match these bunnies with the perfect adopted families that would suit their needs perfectly.
The Rabbit Center in Richmond provides a haven for more than 35 rabbits of varying ages and temperaments, and they are all available for adoption.
House Rabbit Society Details:
- Location: Headquartered in Richmond, California
- Phone Number: 510-970-7575
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: House Rabbit Society
- Social Media: Facebook
4. The Rabbit Haven
The Rabbit Haven is run fully by volunteers. They have no paid staff. Each person who spays and neuters the rabbits vaccinates them, provides other medical care and grooming services, outreaches, rescues, and foster care is a volunteer.
The Rabbit Haven exists first and foremost to educate the community about rabbit care—this is to combat common misconceptions.
Specifically, they aim to teach that rabbits are complex, social creatures with specialized needs regarding grooming, diet, habitat, and friendship. They are not simply cuddly creatures you can abandon after a few photo shoots.
The Rabbit Haven’s next focus is to make sure that rabbits in kill shelters and those who have been neglected, abandoned, or otherwise endangered are rescued and are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and otherwise nursed to wonderful health.
They then focus on finding each rabbit in their care a forever home. The usual step between rescue and permanent indoor homes is foster parents. This is integral to the Rabbit Haven’s operations.
They have about a hundred rabbits in their care at any one time, and this would not be possible without their dedicated foster network. None of the Haven’s funding comes from state or federal sources—it is all from individual donors and grants.
The Rabbit Haven has a roster of special needs rabbits that are either unadoptable or need special surgeries or medications to make sure they’re ready to find their forever homes.
You can sponsor these procedures through donations, and you can also adopt rabbits like these that are in need.
The Rabbit Haven Details:
- Location: Scotts Valley, California
- Phone Number: 831-239-7119
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: The Rabbit Haven
- Social Media: Facebook
5. Contra Costa Rabbit Rescue
Contra Costa Rabbit Rescue (CCRR) does not have a centralized shelter location. Instead, this small rescue organization is made up of a network of dedicated foster parents throughout the Bay Area.
At times, they are not set up to receive any intakes of rescued buns, although they have set up helpful resources on their website for what to do if you have an adoptable rabbit that needs a new home.
Additionally, CCRR holds rabbit adoption events twice a month at designated locations (Martinez PetCo and Walnut Creek PFE) so that you can come to meet your potential new rescue rabbit.
Contra Costa Rabbit Rescue has two main focuses: to educate the public about rabbits and to rescue rabbits in need or crisis from local animal shelters and do their best to give them forever homes or to provide them with sanctuary while they await adoption.
Unfortunately due to temperament or health concerns, there are rare situations where rabbits cannot be adopted out to regular families, so in these cases, trained volunteers take care of these buns.
CCRR visits schools and organizations around the Bay Area teaching about the vital importance of spaying and neutering your bun, rabbit socialization, and rabbit health and diet.
Contra Costa Rabbit Rescue Details:
- Location: Antioch, California
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Contra Costa Rabbit Rescue
- Social Media: Facebook
6. RabbitEARS
RabbitEARS states on its website and social media pages that they are an 11th-hour small rescue for small mammals like rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas.
Because they are a small rescue operation, they do need extra assistance during the financial crisis in the wake of COVID-19 to continue operations.
However, their committed volunteers continue to work tirelessly to rescue bunnies in need from needless euthanasia at kill shelters. They do not accept surrendered buns from the public.
Their sole intake is from kill shelters in the area, so that they can ensure that these rabbits find a home and the care they need instead of dying needlessly.
EARS stands for Education, Awareness, Rescue, and Services. The Rescue part of the acronym is the most essential, but the Education part is also a crucial facet of RabbitEARS’s operations.
RabbitEARS educates the general public about the care and keeping of small mammals, the importance of spaying and neutering them, and specifics about their diet, handling, and behaviors.
The Awareness piece of the name is to change assumptions and perspectives about bunnies and other small mammals so that people know they can make wonderful and rewarding pets.
The Services offered by RabbitEARS include rabbit boarding, grooming, and selling pet supplies and accessories. This last part of the acronym ensures that money comes back into the organization so they can continue their work.
RabbitEARS Details:
- Location: Oakland, California
- Phone Number: 510-655-3277
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: RabbitEARS
- Social Media: Facebook
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