If You Want A Vegan Pet, Get A Rabbit
- Thomas Nelson
- October 24, 2020
- Animals, Sustainable Living
- 0 Comments
More and more health and environmentally conscious people are choosing to transition to a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle to reduce impact on the environment and make a more ethical dietary choice. Many who choose a vegan diet look for other areas that they can incorporate this diet, making it more of a lifestyle than a diet. If you’re looking for a vegan pet, spare your dogs and cats the vegan pet food and get a rabbit.
Can cats and dogs be vegan?
When it comes to cats, the answer to this question is an emphatic no. Your cat cannot be vegan. If you try to feed your cat a fully plant-based diet, it will result in poor health and eventual death. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they must eat animal products in order to thrive.
For dogs, things are a little less clear. According to Rover, it can be done, but there is a lot of room for error. Hill’s Diet has found ample evidence that dogs are omnivores. Common problems for dogs on a vegan diet include vitamin B and D deficiencies, insufficient protein, and heart problems caused by amino acid imbalance. The bottom line here is that you can feed a dog a vegan diet but you shouldn’t. A classic example of just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
But there are options out there for people who do not want to contribute to animal agriculture: gerbils, mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, tortoises, and rabbits can all be fed a vegan diet.
Are rabbits vegan?
If you were to film a nature documentary about rabbits, you could spend countless hours in the field filming their behavior and there’s one thing you definitely won’t see: a rabbit chowing down on a juicy steak – or any animal products for that matter. Rabbits are herbivores, meaning they eat only plant matter. Rabbits are a 100% vegan pet that can match your vegan lifestyle.
Of course, if you fed your rabbit a diet of carrots and hay, they probably wouldn’t be very healthy. Rabbits need a balanced rabbit food in conjunction with rabbit appropriate snacks, like bell peppers, greens, carrots and carrot tops, cucumbers, sprouts, zucchini, and more.
Where to adopt a rabbit
According the the House Rabbit Society and the Humane Society, rabbits are the third most surrendered animal at animal shelters around the United States. If you intend to get a pet rabbit, it is strongly encouraged that the first places you look for a new companion animal are animal shelters and rabbit rescues.
Rabbits are sometimes offered in pet and farm stores, but the conditions in which these rabbits are raised and bred are sometimes a mystery to the consumer. Just as there are puppy mills that treat their dogs terribly, there are rabbit mills that churn out baby bunnies for a profit, leading to worse care, conditions, and in some instances, mixed breed rabbits being passed off as pure breeds.
If there are no pet rabbits available in local shelters or rescues, avoid store bought rabbits and instead look for local licensed breeders. Visit their facilities, meet the rabbits, meet the parents, examine the conditions, and ask lots of questions about their practices and care.
Responsible rabbit care
Before concluding, a note on responsible rabbit care. Your pet bunny rabbit, if well cared for, will live 10 to 12 years. Getting a pet rabbit isn’t a decision to be made lightly – you’ll be responsible for them for a long time. And just because they’re smaller, more docile animals doesn’t mean they don’t need care. Your rabbit will need regular veterinary care, including vaccinations and spray and neuter.
Your rabbit needs the care, attention, and respect that you would give any other pet.
