Southern Cape Bunny Haven

A very special home for very special bunnies

By Monique Goosen

I started the Southern Cape Bunny Haven (SCBH) officially in 2015, after my very special bunny, Dingles, passed on. I made a vow then that I would extend my love to all of Dingles’ kind, and provide safety for those of them in need. The Haven is the only one of its kind in Africa. It is also one of only four rescue centres in the world that specifically meet the needs of disabled and special needs rabbits.

Rabbits are often and incorrectly thought to be rodents. They are not. They belong to the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae (hares and rabbits) and the Ochotonidae (pikas).*

Being the only rabbit rescue in South Africa’s Garden Route area, we have our work cut out for us. The area in which we operate is large, and stretches from Witsand to Heidelberg in the Western Cape, as far as Plettenberg Bay, and along the southern Cape coast up to the Karoo’s R66.

The Haven rescues between 60 and 80 rabbits every week. This number includes the healthy rabbits from feral colonies we catch in order to rehabilitate and rehome them. They are usually rehomed immediately if the home checks we do at their new homes are successful.

We do not adopt our bunnies out to families with children under a certain age, or to people with specific breeds of animals. The very young, sick, injured or special needs bunnies remain at the Haven until they are reassessed and deemed fit for rehoming.

The Haven bunnies all sleep in enclosures inside the farmhouse, as there are numerous predators on the farm. During the day they get to enjoy supervised playtime outside. All male bunnies are sterilised as soon as their age and health allow, and about 80% of the females are sterilised. We have a strict no-breeding policy, but we do accept heavily pregnant females at the Haven. This is where they will safely give birth to their little ones, whom we raise with the greatest love and care.

Our haven is a right-to-life facility, which means that we will only request a vet to euthanize a bunny if it has no quality of life anymore, or when it is suffering permanent and unmanageable pain.  We do not tolerate suffering of any kind, and neither do we “let” bunnies “go” to make space for other rabbits. Each one of our bunnies is unique and loved.

Because the special needs rabbits react strongly with “fight or flight” instincts, bunnies who are not bonded with a friend are kept in their own enclosures. Our bunnies cannot share large spaces, at it makes them feel unsafe and anxious. 

The Haven is situated on a farm in the Albertinia district of South Africa’s southern Cape region. Our closest vet in Mossel Bay is a 60km drive away, and our specialist vet in George is 120km away. Our many extensive rescue operations have pushed the Haven’s limits in terms of space and other resources. We have many mouths to feed and many vet bills to pay every month. We carry out cleaning, transport and other operations daily, and we need all the help we can get.

We are a fully registered 18A PBO and NPO and can provide tax rebate certificates to our donors upon request.

*Source: Wikipedia   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagomorpha