Bunny Love

Dear All,

In my travels this week, I ran into a fellow who thinks that it's pretty funny to tell me that he's going to eat my rabbits. As might be expected, this is not funny to me, especially when he pushes the point. The fellow, like many others, is under the misapprehension that because rabbits are docile and cute that they are lower than us and thus ours to do with as we wish. I adamantly and seriously take issue with this point of view. Differences in preferences about temperature, diet, amusement and the amount of attention paid them are what make them discrete individuals, each one interesting and valuable.

I had one bunny who was a very tough little rabbit. My mother was fond of saying he was a "...very tiny dominant animal". His best friend was a little black rabbit. That rabbit was somehow tougher and a whole lot brighter than he was. The first would rear up on his tiny, mighty hind legs and make aggressive moves with his paws, grunting as he did so. This would happen at a variety of provocations, for example being picked up for a pat, being given a toy or his dinner. It was understandable because he was mistreated before he moved in with me. The other rabbit understood how to calm down the first rabbit, and often did so. It was really interesting to watch the two interact.

My students met only the little black bunny, but they said that he understood them; I was not surprised. I felt as though he understood his companion and me as well. I think that if we have souls, so do rabbits. Further, I believe that the little black rabbit was sapient- self aware, and aware of his place in his surroundings. He was incredibly relaxed and quick-witted. I often remarked that I thought he was smarter than me.

While rabbits are definitely individuals, they do have some things in common. For example, I have never met a rabbit that likes to leave home. They have all seemed to love their specific little areas of the house and are most comfortable in quiet places that don't change much. They are not interested in constant attention; they are surprisingly independent, liking a lot of attention for a little while several times per day. They like to explore new areas of the house, but have a healthy sense of self-preservation and so don't like to explore outside. All in all, they don't hurt anyone and don't deserve to be harmed just because they are physically vulnerable.

Rabbits are very communicative. They don't vocalize or have facial muscles, so they don't make much noise or change their expressions; their language is more "spoken" with the whole body. If you know what you are seeing, they are extremely expressive. They know human body language as well, and respond to certain categories of body language in patterns characteristic to each individual.

Rabbits are very smart, as well; they are intuitive and social, being extremely sensitive to tone of voice. I have had several rabbits who solved puzzles, played games and understood more words than thirty words. One rabbit even had a sense of humor. He did several tricks at which my mother always laughed. The more she laughed the more he would do them. I believe that there was a causal connection between his behavior, her laughter and his subsequent repetition of that behavior; he liked her very much.

Sometimes I think that if that guy could just meet my rabbits he might understand why he is so wrong about them. Other times I am reminded that he is really serious about his views on rabbits. As a result, I have come to believe that he and my rabbits should never meet, as he truly believes that rabbits exist to be used by humans for meat and fur, and that they have no other value.

This is one that I am probably going to have to drop. As my father used to say, "People of good will can disagree". I will never change this guy's perspective; he is set in his ways. But, by introducing my rabbits to my students, what the older generation can't accept, the younger ones will accept without question: the best place for a rabbit fur is on a rabbit.

Sincerely,
Betsy