For pets given as gifts, a home is not necessarily a ’forever’ one.

Owners realise that they can’t look after them, or children become bored with them.

This is particularly so with rabbits.

They are easy to purchase on the island, and there is a misconception that they are a great ’first pet’ for children.

While a well-socialised rabbit does make a great pet for people of all ages - they are intelligent, loving and fun to have around - he or she is labour-intensive to care for and can live for 10 years or more.

We receive several calls a month from concerned members of the public who report that their neighbour’s rabbit is stuck in hutch 24 hours a day, on its own and with very little care or attention given to it.

Our first step is to try to give helpful advice to the owners, and the second step is to encourage them to gift-in their rabbits to the society.

We have seen an influx of rabbits over the last few months, as winter has set in and going outdoors to spend time with pets is less appealing.

We’ve also seen an increase in the number of pregnant females coming to us, having had owners who did not understand the importance of spaying their pets.

Not only does an unneutered female rabbit produce kittens that are not easy to rehome, but she also has a vastly increased risk of dying from cancer of the uterus.

We have 21 rabbits in our small animals unit at the moment.

They are all different shapes, colours and sizes, and some are short haired and others are super fluffy.

We have quite a few bonded pairs who will need to be rehomed together, but we also have single rabbits who could be paired up with an owner’s existing rabbit.

The small animals unit staff are on-hand to give lots of advice and support to prospective adopters, and they will happily oversee the bonding process where an owner has an existing rabbit; and all of our rabbits are neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

Roo and Casper came to us just before Christmas due to their owner’s change of circumstances.

They are four-year-old males, and Roo is a ’Heinz 57’, while Casper is a pure-breed Lionhead.

They are both well-socialised, although they can be a bit shy at first, and they enjoy being handled and fussed over. Casper also needs regular grooming to maintain his good looks.

You can come and meet all the rabbits any day apart from Thursdays, between 1pm and 4pm.

You will be welcome to spend as much time with them as you want to, so that you can make an informed choice about which one, or ones, you want to adopt.

Not only do we have a great choice of rabbits with us at the moment, we also have a variety of cockerels looking for new homes (with many more waiting to come in). They are all stunning birds, with colourful plumage and beautiful tail feathers, but they are noisy.

They need a rural or semi-rural environment to live in so that they don’t cause a nuisance to neighbours - can you help?

We’ve been delighted with the response from stall holders to our first ever tack sale which is being held on Sunday, February 4, in the Playbarn at Ard Jerkyll between 2pm and 4pm.

The barn will be full of stalls selling all manner of new and used equestrian items, as well as outdoor clothing and dog paraphernalia. There will be lots of bargains to be had, as well as a raffle, and the sale proceeds will support the work of the ManxSPCA.