Story

In February 2020 Ethical Consumer received an email from the campaign group babba.org, who were campaiging for an end to the factory farming of rabbits. The group was targeting Pets At Home over their sale of factory farmed rabbits for pets.

The campaign group alleged that Pets At Home cause distress to rabbits in its stores, which can later end up in rescue facilities for the following reasons:
mis-sexing of the rabbits causing unwanted litters
wrong or lack of advice for consumers
sick rabbits sold as well
aggressive rabbits due to having been kept in stressful cramped conditions in the store
unneutered / unvaccinated rabbits and
rabbits suffering from terrible neglect due to having been sold to the wrong people, or with unsuitable accommodation as no home visits are carried out.

A survey of 3 pet rescue centres, carried out by campaigners in 2019, found that around one third of all rabbits at the rescue centres surveyed came from Pets at Home.

The organisation had a petition on Change.org asking the company stop the sale of rabbits, this had over 30,000 signatures.

Pets At Home disputed all the alligations.

The company therefore lost half a mark under Animal Rights.