Adopting rescue rabbits in Bristol: rescues, pairs and costs

The live line under the short answer counts the rabbit listings we hold today within about 25 miles of Bristol, and every one on our Bristol rabbits page links to the rescue that cares for it. A listing is often a pair, so there are usually more rabbits than listings. You apply to the rescue, not to us.

Rabbits are social animals, and the welfare charities agree they should not live alone. RWAF, the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund, puts it simply: "Every rabbit needs a friend." It adds that rabbits kept in pairs must be neutered, and that two rabbits who haven't met can't just be put together: bonding them can take time and patience. PDSA says that however much attention we give a rabbit, we can't replace the company of another rabbit, and that rabbits shouldn't live with guinea pigs.

The rescues near Bristol each apply that in their own way. The Littlest Lives Rescue says plainly: "We do not rehome rabbits as single pets." Its rabbits go as bonded pairs or groups, or it helps bond one of its rabbits with a rabbit you already have. Happy Landings Animal Rescue Centre asks you to bring your rabbit to meet a new companion.

The steps are close to adopting a cat or dog, with one extra: the rescue looks hard at the space you have. Allow a few weeks rather than a few days.

1. Choose a pair, or a rabbit to join yours, on our Bristol rabbits page or the rescue's own site.
2. Apply. The Littlest Lives Rescue takes an adoption enquiry form, and Happy Landings Animal Rescue Centre its rehoming form.
3. Have a chat and a home check. The Littlest Lives checks your setup against RWAF's space and care guidelines and gives guidance on space and care.
4. Meet the rabbits at the rescue centre or the foster home, and bring your own rabbit if the rescue asks so they can be introduced.
5. Reserve, pay the fee and take your rabbits home, then book their annual vaccinations with your vet.

Rescues ask a fee or donation per rabbit, not a sale price. The Littlest Lives Rescue asks £80 per rabbit and All Creatures Great and Small a £90 rehoming donation, while Happy Landings Animal Rescue Centre doesn't publish its fee. Nationally, Blue Cross rabbit fees start from £60, or £90 for a pair.

The fee goes towards vet work the rabbit has already had. The Littlest Lives neuters and vaccinates every rabbit first and says that alone costs it around £150 a rabbit on average, so you take home rabbits whose first big vet bills are paid. After that, the vaccinations are yours to keep up every year; PDSA says costs vary between practices, so ask your vet.

We don't list any animals for sale. Every rabbit on our pages is with a rescue and goes to a new home for an adoption fee or donation. The Littlest Lives says outright that it doesn't work like a pet shop or breeder, and its rabbits leave already neutered and vaccinated, often as a bonded pair, after a home check of your space.

A rabbit bought on its own will need a neutered companion, its vaccinations and a home big enough for two. RWAF asks owners who rehome rabbits privately not to let them go to a solitary life in a hutch, and the same thinking applies to buying one.

The home check is about these needs, so it helps to have them sorted before you apply.

• Space. RWAF recommends a single enclosed area of at least 3m x 2m by 1m high for a pair of average size rabbits, sleeping quarters included. PDSA gives the same 3 x 2 x 1m minimum and adds "the bigger, the better".
• Food. RWAF says grass and hay "should make up the majority of what they eat and must always be available", with fresh greens daily and only a small portion of pellets. PDSA says carrots are a treat, not a staple, because of their sugar.
• Vaccinations. PDSA says pet rabbits in the UK should be vaccinated against myxomatosis, RVHD-1 and RVHD-2, from around five weeks old with a yearly booster, and that house rabbits need them too because the diseases spread through insects, wild rabbits and even on clothes and shoes. The RSPCA also advises vaccinating all your rabbits and keeping up regular boosters.
• Time. PDSA says domestic rabbits can live 7 to 10 years, and The Littlest Lives Rescue calls rabbits a 10 to 12 year commitment. They need daily cleaning, feeding and attention, and regular vet checks.

The Littlest Lives Rescue says it often takes in rabbits that were first bought for children and later given up. It says rabbits are "never suitable as a child-led responsibility": children can help feed, clean and handle them gently, but an adult must take full responsibility. PDSA adds that rabbits don't like being picked up, which young children can find hard to understand, and suggests children sit on the floor with treats and let the rabbits come to them.

One more local charity rehomes rabbits around the city. We don't list its rabbits, so contact it directly.

• Bristol Rabbit Rescue & Friends describes itself as a not-for-profit small animal rescue working in Bristol and surrounding areas, including South Wales, running since 2018. It is run by volunteers through a foster network and rehomes guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters as well as rabbits. Its adoption process starts with an application form and a discussion, then a home visit (it offers video calls too). You can reserve an animal only once it is health checked, vaccinated and neutered where needed, and then only for two weeks.
• Blue Cross rehomes rabbits in England and Wales, from £60 or £90 for a pair; search its own site for rabbits near you.
• Looking for a cat or a dog as well? Happy Landings and All Creatures Great and Small rehome both: see our guides to cat rescues and dog rescues near Bristol.