The British Rabbit Council Code of Practice
SALE OF RABBITS
There are a number of Acts that affect the sale of animals. These include the various Protection of Animal Acts between 1911 and 1964 and the Trade Descriptions Act, but the main Act is the Pet Animals Act of 1951. Many people quote this Act particularly when they wish to prevent the sale of domestic rabbits or to cause difficulties at shows where rabbits are being sold. But (and this is a very important but) the Pet Animals Act refers only to rabbits sold by persons carrying on a business of selling animals as pets. The Act specifically says ‘No person who is only keeping or selling rabbits bred by him or the young of any animal kept by him’ is covered by this Act.
Any person therefore who takes a rabbit to a show or any show that offers animals for sale in any way, for example in a selling class, cannot be regarded as coming within the Pet Animals Act.
There is complete freedom for any breeder (who doesn’t keep a pet shop or deals in rabbits as a business) to sell any rabbit in any way he likes, provided that he does not mislead the customer or acts fraudulently.
There is however one exception to this. The Animal Welfare Act does say that any person who sells an animal as a pet to a person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be under the age of sixteen years is guilty of an offence. It is therefore, very important to ensure that if a child wishes to buy a rabbit then the seller should sell it to the parents.
In the interest of any animals sold, and in the interest of the rabbit fancy as a whole,
all sellers of rabbits should act responsibly and obey the following rules:
1. No rabbit should be sold before it is at least two months of age.
2. No sick or injured animals should ever be sold.
3.
The seller should make absolutely certain that the buyer fully understands the care and handling of the rabbit. The seller should give the potential owner information on VHD and Myxomatosis and advice as to the vaccinations available. The seller should provide the new owner with at least a week’s supply of the rabbit’s current food and details of where that food may be purchased and should advise as to how to change from one rabbit food to another. The seller should provide the new owner with information as to how much food to give the rabbit and what extras the rabbit is accustomed to - this could be by means of a care sheet.
4.
The seller should provide the new owner with contact points for the British Rabbit Council and details of their Local Adviser.
5. The general conditions under which the rabbit has been kept should be explained.
6. Any animal sold should both conform to a standard and be a reasonable show specimen or the buyer should be informed that it is not suitable for show.
7. No rabbit should be sold to a child under the age of 16 years.
8.
Care should be taken that at all times the animals should be kept in satisfactory surroundings. This also applies to shows where sometimes too many animals are confined to pens (when they are for sale), which causes overcrowding.
The British Rabbit Council
Purefoy House
7 Kirkgate
Newark
Notts NG24 1AD
Tel 01636-676042
Fax no longer available
Email
info@thebrc.org
