Many people think of rabbits as children's pets; a cheap, low-maintenance, cuddly animal that can live outdoors and requires very little care or attention. They are easily bought from pet shops with no planning or prior knowledge required and are not seen as much of a commitment, unlike a cat or a dog. Because of this, rabbits are Britain's third most popular pet, but they are also the most neglected.

In reality, rabbits are naturally prey animals and are, therefore, shy and afraid of sudden movements, loud noises and being picked up off the ground. Just as dogs and cats have an instinct to chase and catch food, rabbits have an instinct to run from danger. With their sharp teeth, sharp claws and powerful hind legs, rabbits are certainly not the placid, toy-like pet they are made out to be. Consequently, more than 67,000 rabbits enter UK rescues each year.

Many of rabbits end up in rescue due to being labelled as "aggressive" or "dangerous around kids", but this is often due to hormones (being territorial and sexually frustrated), fear, pain, boredom or the owner's lack of understanding of the species. When rabbits enter the rescue, the first thing we do after a basic health check and vaccination is to neuter them. The girls are spayed and the boys are castrated. Not only does this reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancies, but can also stop spraying, reduce territorial behaviour, prevent cancer and generally make rabbits much calmer and more gentle to handle.

Neutering, however, is one of the biggest costs faced by the rescue. Each rabbit costs between £55 and £85 to neuter and, with the numbers we have to neuter, the cost adds up quickly. Over the past 5 days, we have had a total of 12 rabbits neutered. Of the 45 rabbits we have in the centre, this is just a small number and we have more in need of this important procedure. We frequently find ourselves with pregnant rabbits entering the rescue and this, although cute, fascinating and popular, just leads to more mouths to feed, hutches to clean and more expensive vet bills. We currently have a litter of eight 4-week olds and five 5-week olds. All rabbits over the age of 10 weeks old are vaccinated and this, again, is not cheap - especially when all baby bunnies reach that age at around the same time!

As well as paying for routine neutering and vaccinations, each rabbit requires food, fresh bedding and enrichment. Many of our rabbits require specialist medical attention or medication due to injury, infection, illness or receiving poor quality of care before coming to the rescue. Some of the common problems we come across include acute pododermatitis (sore hocks), severe dental problems requiring incisor removal, untreated blocked tear ducts causing infections, abscesses and much, much more. Our local veterinary practice are amazing and have helped us more times than we can count. They have treated everything from a dislocated toe to a missing tail (and still smile when they see us)!

Sadly, the cost of anaesthetic, scans (e.g. x-rays), medication and everything else needed for successful diagnosis and treatment is not cheap and quickly adds up. With the help of the vet, we can provide the time, facilities and knowledge to care for each animal, but we need your help too! If you can spare a few pennies, a few hours or even a few empty toilet-rolls, we and the animals would be very grateful!

Thank you for taking the time to read about one of the main challenges we face - funding - and please do spread the word.

Thank you!