What is end of life fostering?
At some point bun parents find themselves in a position where they are left with one remaining rabbit, whether that be all of their other rabbits have passed away or they have had countless pairs with one passing and being rebonded and now the remaining rabbit is elderly or unwell. Some parents no longer want to continue the cycle of getting new rabbits as they may find themselves drained emotionally, financially or at a different stage in their life. However what about their last remaining bunny? They acknowledge that their bunny still needs rabbit companionship and that they will be grieving and lonely. Human companionship is never enough for a rabbit. This is where our programme comes into play. This programme allows the remaining bunny to have rabbit companionship temporarily while giving the parent support without continuing the cycle.
How does the programme work?
- An initial virtual home visit is done by our EOLF manager to meet the bun parent and the rabbit, this is to see the home environment to get an idea of the rabbit and their personality. (Our adoption standards still apply regarding space, neutering and vaccinations).
- The rabbit would then come to stay with us for approx 2 weeks at the rescue for bonding with their new EOLF companion/s.
- The bunny parent comes to collect them and signs the end of life foster contract which gives them the reassurance that when their bunny passes, the BBB bunnies will be returned to us.
What if the Parent Wants to Adopt the Bunnies After Their Bunny Passes Away?
This is unusual as the people going for this programme are 100% certain that they do not want or cannot have any more bunnies after their remaining bunny was to pass away. In order to qualify for the programme, you must 100% not be able to have any more rabbits afterwards, this means you cannot adopt our foster buns.
What Kind of Bunnies Would my Bunny be Bonded to?
The BBB bunnies that we would choose would be not only well matched for the bunny in question and get along well but also happy in the home environment using our unique 5 criteria matching model. Rabbits who go out as EOLF companions are either harder to adopt buns, SN sanctuary rabbits or pairs. We cannot guarantee our bun/s will outlive yours, but we choose their companion/s wisely.
What Fees Are Involved and What Support do You Recieve?
There are no adoption/fostering fees at all involved. We ask if we are doing the bonding that a donation of £100 is given to help us continue the foster programme.
The BBB bunnies must be insured by the person fostering them. We also ask that care, food etc is provided for them and that they are registered with a rabbit savvy vet for annual vaccinations (the BBB bunnies will leave neutered, vaccinated, rearguarded etc but we expect the fosterer to continue this on an annual basis or bring them back to us to have it done) and any emergency health care needed. We will not pay for any vet bills or treatments after they have went to the foster home (as the foster bunnies could potentially be with the parent for many many years) however can always offer support, advice and discounts where possible.
The fosterer is added to our EOLF support Whatsapp group chat for help and support should they need any advice that they can utilise at any time. They are also free to bring the bunnies to the rescue for nail clipping, health checking etc at any point during the fostering (at no expense).
The BBB bunnies must be insured by the person fostering them. We also ask that care, food etc is provided for them and that they are registered with a rabbit savvy vet for annual vaccinations (the BBB bunnies will leave neutered, vaccinated, rearguarded etc but we expect the fosterer to continue this on an annual basis or bring them back to us to have it done) and any emergency health care needed. We will not pay for any vet bills or treatments after they have went to the foster home (as the foster bunnies could potentially be with the parent for many many years) however can always offer support, advice and discounts where possible.
The fosterer is added to our EOLF support Whatsapp group chat for help and support should they need any advice that they can utilise at any time. They are also free to bring the bunnies to the rescue for nail clipping, health checking etc at any point during the fostering (at no expense).
Once the Parents Rabbit Passes Away, What Next?
We ask the foster carer to give us up to 1 month to find a space for the BBB bunnies back at the rescue where they will find their forever home. If an urgent situation arrises and the rabbits must urgently come back to us for any reason, emergency foster cover will be found for them with one of our team members. Typically we can have the rabbit/s immediately returned to us.
How Do I Get Started? Does My Bunny Qualify For This?
Update September 2024:
We have now been running this programme successfully for over 5 years and have recently reviewed and revised it to make it more efficient. We have tightened up our criteria and are now reviewing each application on a case by case basis. We have capped our capacity to ensure we have enough resources available. If you email us to enquire and we are at max capacity, you will be placed on a list until a space in our programme becomes available.
We have now been running this programme successfully for over 5 years and have recently reviewed and revised it to make it more efficient. We have tightened up our criteria and are now reviewing each application on a case by case basis. We have capped our capacity to ensure we have enough resources available. If you email us to enquire and we are at max capacity, you will be placed on a list until a space in our programme becomes available.
To qualify, you must have the following circumstances:
- You must have one remaining bunny who is fully vaccinated, neutered and has access to lots of space and enrichment.
- You must be within a 60 mile radius of the center in Douglas, South Lanarkshire.
- You must be registered with a BBBB approved vet.
- You must be 100% in a position not to have any more rabbits. (If while you are fostering, you bring any new rabbits home, this immediately terminates your foster programme).
- You must be able to insure the foster rabbit and take them for annual vaccinations.
- You must be able to commit 100% to all of the terms of the EoLF foster agreement contract.
- You must be able to do 6 monthly video calls with us so that we can see how our bun/s are doing. It is also mandatory to bring our buns back to us us once annually for a health check.