About Us

 

We run Rabbit Runaway Orphanage a registered charity for pet rabbits.  We specialise in supporting special needs rabbits, pre and post operative care and support.  All funds go to support the health and vet care of the orphanage rabbits.

 

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Our Journey

Our journey into the world of rabbits began in 2003. We had never considered having rabbits as pets, when Hiro and Chi, arrived as babies, one week apart through a hole in our back fence. We went to the neighbors but no one owned them. We plugged up the hole in the fence and got on the internet to find out all about bunnies, and so our destiny was determined.



One year later we found Tai, another little boy, wandering the streets in the neighbourhood. By then Hiro and Chi had taught us a lot about bunnies. When they reached puberty they fought and had to be separated. Bryce had built our first large bunny hutch which we named 'Sleepy Hollow', and was completing a new duplex 4 level hutch for Hiro and Chi that we called 'Bunny Towers'. As Tai was another little boy, we had to keep him separated from Hiro and Chi so that they would not fight. We found that we had to supply three separate areas for the three boys. Tai seemed quite lonely so once he was desexed and vaccinated we took him on a bunny date to the bunny orphanage where he met Mali. Also Hiro and Chi eventually became friends again.



Three years later we had acquired four girl bunnies Tulip, Lori, Gia and Fleur, who were all named after flowers. Most of our bunnies are orphans except for Gia and Fleur who were rescued from less than perfect conditions and no information was given to us about their care. All of our bunnies are vaccinated and desexed.



Our experience with our bunnies has brought into sharp focus the lackof knowledge in the community concerning the welfare of domestic bunnies and the lack of suitable housing and information on diet and health available to give to new bunny owners. It is surprising that Hiro and Chi survived the early years with us, when we were so naive about their care.

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In those early days, there were three other orphaned bunnies, that

came into our care and due to existing health conditions, did not

survive. Their stories involved teeth problems and the myxomatosis

virus. It was heartbreaking for us to see two of these bunnies

​euthanised at shelters due to their underlying health conditions.

 

Rabbit Run was then founded in December 2007 by Judi and Bryce Inglis. The business was established to provide information to new bunny owners about caring for domestic rabbits, and to provide pet businesses with an updated source of information about rabbit care.

 

In 2009, they established their charity - Rabbit Runaway Orphanage - in order to rescue and rehome abandoned and neglected pet rabbits.

 

In 2013, Rabbit Runaway Orphanage became the first House Rabbit Society's Australian Chapter.