Rabbit intakes and predictors of their length of stay in animal shelters in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are the fourth most common species admitted to the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA) shelter system. However, shelter data analysis has largely focused on cats and dogs and little is known about the population dynamics of rabbits in shelters. We analyzed five years of rabbit records (n = 1567) at the BC SPCA to identify trends in intake and predictors of length of stay (LOS) of rabbits. The majority of rabbits were surrendered by their owners (40.2%), with most rabbits being surrendered for human-related reasons (96.9%). Overall, rabbit intakes decreased over the study period. When analyzing by month of intake, rabbit intakes were found to be the highest in May. Most rabbits in our data were adults (46.7%), non-brachycephalic (66.7%), erect-eared (82.5%), short-furred (76.2%), and subsequently adopted (80.3%). The median LOS of rabbits was 29 days, highlighting the pressing need to improve their time to adoption. A linear model was constructed to identify predictors of LOS of adopted rabbits (n = 1203) and revealed that intake year, intake month, source of intake, age, cephalic type, and breed size significantly predicted time to adoption for rabbits (F(37, 1165) = 7.95, p < 2.2e-16, adjusted R2 = 0.18). These findings help characterize shelter population dynamics for rabbits, shed light on the challenges associated with unwanted rabbits, and offer a foundation for animal shelters to design programs and marketing strategies tailored to reduce LOS of rabbits with particular characteristics. Shelter rabbits represent an understudied population and our study highlights the importance of further research in companion rabbits.

Fig 1. Number of rabbit intakes by intake year.

Fig 2. Number of rabbit intakes by intake month and source of intake.

Each bar represents the number of rabbit intakes each month. The colours within each bar represent the sources of intake.

Fig 3. Number of rabbit intakes by intake month and age.

Each bar represents the number of rabbit intakes each month. The colours within each bar represent the age categories of the rabbits.

Fig 4. LOS of adopted rabbits by intake year.

The central line of the boxplots represents the median LOS, with 25% and 75% percentiles denoted by the lower and upper bounds, the whiskers represent the range, and the dots are representing outlying values. The raincloud plots show the distribution and the mean LOS. Letters denote significant differences in LOS between intake years.

Fig 5. LOS of adopted rabbits by intake month.

The central line of the boxplots represents the median LOS, with 25% and 75% percentiles denoted by the lower and upper bounds, the whiskers represent the range, and the dots are representing outlying values. The raincloud plots show the distribution and the mean LOS. Letters denote significant differences in LOS between intake months.

Fig 6. LOS of adopted rabbits by source of intake.

The central line of the boxplots represents the median LOS, with 25% and 75% percentiles denoted by the lower and upper bounds, the whiskers represent the range, and the dots are representing outlying values. The raincloud plots show the distribution and the mean LOS. Letters denote significant differences in LOS between sources of intake.

Fig 7. Relationship between LOS and age in adopted rabbits.

LOS in days is shown on the y-axis and age in years is shown on the x-axis.

Fig 8. LOS of adopted rabbits by cephalic type.

The central line of the boxplots represents the median LOS, with 25% and 75% percentiles denoted by the lower and upper bounds, the whiskers represent the range, and the dots are representing outlying values. The raincloud plots show the distribution and the mean LOS. Letters denote significant differences in LOS between cephalic types.

Fig 9. LOS of adopted rabbits by breed size.

The central line of the boxplots represents the median LOS, with 25% and 75% percentiles denoted by the lower and upper bounds, the whiskers represent the range, and the dots are representing outlying values. The raincloud plots show the distribution and the mean LOS. Letters denote significant differences in LOS between breed sizes.