Our Rescue

We are an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization with two primary goals:

Rescuing abandoned rabbits from local animal shelters and finding them permanent homes
Assisting humane societies through public education

Did You Know?

House Rabbit Society is a U.S. nonprofit with a global reach. We have 10 chapters in the United States and additional chapters in Canada, Italy, and Australia. Chapters are independent rabbit rescue organizations that partner closely with House Rabbit Society and pledge to follow our philosophy.

How do we do all that? We owe our success to our volunteers, and to the generosity of our over 8,000 individual members who support this very important work. Without our volunteers, who without pay and outside of their “regular” jobs, put thousands of hours a year into educational and rescue work, we would cease functioning. But equally important are our members, who support us financially from year to year. Because HRS receives no government support, nor do we accept advertising dollars, we count on the generosity of our members to keep our rescue and education programs alive.

An Incredible Value

Since it was founded in 1988, HRS has prided itself on being a one-of-a-kind organization dedicated to an animal who is among the most harshly exploited of animals. Most rabbits are either bred and slaughtered or kept in laboratories. Even as pets, rabbits bear a heavy load of abuse. Typically kept alone in a small outdoor hutch, these gregarious animals spend their lives in lonely isolation, deprived of exercise, medical attention, human or animal contact, and, often, appropriate food, or fresh water. Many other rabbits are dumped in parks, forests, and by highways when their humans tire of them; an uncountable number are euthanized in animal shelters.

Education and Rescue

House Rabbit Society volunteers work very hard to counteract these perceptions, and to elevate the position of rabbits in society. Without funding, our avenues for education-the House Rabbit Journal, this website, our classes, videos and handouts-would be eliminated. In addition, our volunteers spend countless hours on the phone and on Internet mailing lists and listserves, answering health and behavior questions for desperate rabbit people. Our rescue efforts are even more important, and costly. HRS fosterers have rescued over 20,000 rabbits since our founding twenty years ago. Every rabbit has been spayed or neutered, receives individual care including toys, medical care, healthy food and treats, and love. All of these efforts costs time and money. That’s why we rely on support from private individuals, people like you.

Should you choose to support House Rabbit Society, you will be embarking on a partnership with an organization which has directly helped thousands of rabbits. Your gift can make the difference in the number of rabbits we can rescue per year; support the work of our educators by funding photocopying, mailing expenses, and phone bills. There are almost as many ways of giving as there are programs, projects and priorities at House Rabbit Society that need your support. Your contributions are vital to the success of House Rabbit Society. We urge you to give as generously as you can, to buy more bunnies just a little more time.

For more info, email us at rabbitinfo@rabbitsinthehouse.org