Rehome My Rabbit
Rehome/Surrender Options for Your Rabbit
We appreciate that you are trying to help a house rabbit find a new home. There are many reasons people may be faced with needing to surrender/rehome their companion animals, and it can be a very difficult decision.
Maybe we can help resolve an underlying problem.
Please take a moment to learn about your options.
For those who live in Central Texas, House Rabbit Resource Network does take owner-surrendered rabbits. You can learn more about HRRN’s recommendations and protocols lower down on this page.
Never set a rabbit free!
Nothing is more cruel than abandoning a domesticated animal to fend for itself in the wild. Domestic rabbits are a completely different species from the wild rabbits native to North America. Centuries of selective breeding have taken away their instincts (and natural camouflage) to fend for themselves, and they are sure to face a horrible death.
On This Page:
Rehome Surrender Options for Your Rabbit:
- To HRRN
- To Austin Animal Center (Travis County Residents)
- To Another Central Texas County Shelter
- To Another Rabbit Rescue
- To a Private Individual
- Former HRRN Rabbits: OPEN (click here)
- All Other Rabbits: WAIT LIST (click here)
For Rabbits Adopted from House Rabbit Resource Network:
Whether 2 days ago or 15 years ago, if you adopted a rabbit(s) from HRRN, we will take them back!
No matter the reason, if you can no longer care for your HRRN adopted rabbit, please email us at hrrn@rabbitresource.org or complete the form on our Contact Us page and we will set up a time for you to surrender them to the shelter.
Under no circumstance should you rehome an adopted HRRN rabbit yourself to anyone. Per your contract with us, the rabbit must be returned to us.
Rehome My Rabbit
Before You Surrender Your Bunny
Ideally, we would like to help make it possible for you to keep your pet. Some of the most common reasons people surrender a pet are “fixable” problems.
- Spay/neuter: When a bunny reaches four or five months of age, a number of problems begin to manifest. Spraying, aggressive behavior, and destructive behaviors can all result. These can very often be lessened or alleviated with spaying/neutering. If such behaviors are a factor in your decision, discuss that with one of our volunteers; we might be able to help.
- Destructive behaviors: Chewing and digging are natural behaviors for rabbits, but we may be able to show you ways to “bunny-proof” your home and/or provide alternative, more acceptable outlets for these behaviors. It could also be that your bunny may be trying to tell you something. Perhaps there is a medical issue or something in the bunny’s home environment that is triggering this behavior.
- Poor litterbox habits: Few pets are “perfect” in this department, but there are usually ways to help your bunny improve. Let us put our “experts” on the case and see if we can help.
If you must surrender your bunny...
Rehome My Rabbit
Rehome/Surrender Options Your Rabbit
Surrender To House Rabbit Resource Network:
House Rabbit Resource Network does accept owner surrendered rabbits. However, our intake waitlist normally ranges anywhere from 2 to 12 months.
Our Surrender Fee is $75 per rabbit. This helps us pay for their initial vet visit and spay/neuter surgery. If you have multiple rabbits let us know and we may be able to alter the intake fee.
If you are able to keep the rabbit and wait for a spot at HRRN’s shelter to open up, then please contact us or message us on Facebook requesting to be placed on our intake waitlist.
Surrendering To Austin Animal Center (for Travis County Residents):
If you live in Travis County and are unable to wait for HRRN’s intake waitlist times, call Austin Animal Center (512) 974-2000 to see if they have space. You can also contact them via their website: Austin Animal Center.
HRRN works hand-in-hand with AAC and they will take the rabbit for free, and try and adopt them out there. If after some time the rabbit is not adopted from AAC, they will send the rabbit to us once we have space.
AAC’s Home-Home program:
“Folks can post their pets there….it’s the only platform (with a large audience) that allows rehoming for species outside of just cats and dogs.”
- Shelter staff assist owners with writing bios and filter out any scammers to ensure safe rehoming.
- Rehome – Home to Home Animal Adoption
You can email pet.resources@austintexas.gov
Surrendering To Another Central Texas County Shelter:
Surrendering To Another Rabbit Rescue:
There are a few other rabbit rescues in the state of Texas that you can reach out to to see if they have space. In the Dallas/Fort Worth Area is The Bunny Burrow and North Texas Rabbit Sanctuary. The Houston Area is covered by Bunny Buddies and Houston Rabbit Resource.
Other Ways to Rehome Your Rabbit on Your Own:
- Place an ad on social media and in vets’ offices.
- Train your rabbit to use her litterbox.
- Interact with the rabbit so she is used to people.
- Provide her with toys to show prospective adopters that she is a fun, interesting companion animal.
- NEVER offer your rabbit for free. Insist on at least a modest $20 charge. This will prevent your rabbit from becoming food for people or other animals.
- Insist that your rabbit go to an indoor home only.
- Recommend that prospective adopters read our Rabbit Care Guide or any of the other literature mentioned on this site.
Rehome My Rabbit
Common Reasons People Surrender/Rehome Rabbits and Solutions:
Allergies
The number one reason for adoption fails here at the rescue is hay and rabbit allergies. They bring bunny home, and suddenly they can’t stop sneezing, sniffling, and itching. Hay and Rabbit allergies are in the top 10 overall reasons for owner surrenders at our shelter. The thing is, swapping hay types could fix about 95% of these cases because it’s not usually the actual rabbit that people are allergic to. It’s the timothy hay!
We’re not blaming those who have given a rabbit up because they felt it was better for their health. That’s a personal choice, and it is the easiest way to stop the allergic reaction by just removing all possible triggers.
However, this can be an absolutely heartbreaking decision to many who depend on their rabbit companion and want to try all the options before surrendering their friend.
For those who want to try all the options before getting rid of their rabbit due to allergies, check out our Rabbits & Allergies page where we discuss the different allergies associated with caring for a rabbit. We also provide solutions you can try that have worked for many people with similar problems.
Rabbit Behavior Problems
Most first-time rabbit caretakers are under the impression that rabbits are easy, docile pets. Many others simply believe rabbits are void of any personality at all. Oh, are they wrong! It doesn’t take long for those ideas to dissolve once bunny gets home. Once a rabbit begins to feel comfortable, the true nature of their diva-hood emerges.
And that’s not a bad thing! We love our rabbits because of their fantastic, unique, and many times hilarious personalities. But, many rabbits are naturally more troublesome and naughty than their humans were prepared for.
Some rabbit behaviors are normal, some are easily corrected, and others are actually warning signs that something is wrong with rabbit. Check out our Rabbit Behavior Problems and Solutions Page for the most common behaviors, and what they may mean.