I have not advertised rabbits for sale, because offering rabbits for sale is not why I am in this hobby of breeding and showing rabbits. I am in this hobby for the enjoyment it brings to me personally; there is the daily care and grooming of the rabbits, and there are my friendships with other fanciers.

I returned to the hobby in 2012 after a ten year break. During that time, I’ve received several inquiries about rabbits for sale. I referred almost all of them to other breeders.

There was one from a lady in the same state, who said she wanted an English Angora as a fiber pet. I had a buck I was no longer using, and thought it might be a good retirement home for him. I drove to a city to meet her halfway between my location and hers, then got a phone call from her. She cheerily said that she hoped I hadn’t left home yet, because she couldn’t make it that day. I said sure, no problem, and mentally blacklisted her. She attempted to contact me several times after that, and I ignored her. She had already caused me enough trouble. I also alerted some other breeders about her.

Last year, a family who has decades of serious rabbit hobby experience contacted me about getting a buck and a doe. I was happy to sell them a couple of nice show quality rabbits, on the condition that I would be allowed to buy the rabbits back if they decided they didn’t want them any longer. Several weeks ago, I heard from them that Angora rabbit care did prove to be more than they can handle at this time, and so I went and picked up the one they didn’t want to keep, and I also purchased a couple of her very nice offspring that I liked.

Yesterday, I heard from another person to whom I had sold a rabbit, that the care of the rabbit was too much for him at this time. I retrieved the buck and refunded the purchase price.

Only one of the three rabbitries to whom I sold a rabbit over the past year is still working their Angoras, and seems to be in this hobby for the long haul. Those folks, like me, are retired.

I understand, I really do! When I was a young mother of school age kids, I could not keep up with my Angoras to the best of my ability. Even though I did not work outside the home, taking care of my children and helping them with their activities came first, and required that I keep my rabbit hobby on the back burner. After I passed my herd along to a friend, I resolved that someday I would return to the hobby, and that is exactly what I did in 2012, when I retired.

To weigh the promotion of the hobby versus the welfare of the rabbits, while also considering one’s own personal interests, is conflicting. I feel fortunate that Linda, Marcus, and Margaret were willing to sell quality rabbits to me when I reentered the hobby. I would like to pass that favor forward. I have realized, however, that I just cannot continue to go and retrieve rabbits that I sold that are no longer wanted by the buyers. It simply costs too much in time and refunds. Because I really do not want to see a rabbit I have raised end up on Craigslist, or being used to shell out babies nonstop in a bunny mill, I have no choice but to simply turn away inquiries about rabbits for sale, from now on.