'Mis-sexing' of rabbits leads to influx of abandoned pets at shelter

WETHERIGGS Animal Shelter is successfully rehoming a flood of rabbits and pigs that were brought in.

However, the sanctuary, adjacent to the A66 near Greta Bridge, still needs to find homes for those that remain.

Terry Bowes, of Wetheriggs said: “We have a load of rabbits coming in, it is a constant flow, but we do quite well at rehoming them.”

He said a major problem is pet shop mis-sexing rabbits and people inadvertently pairing bucks and does which quickly produce babies.

He added that a family had recently brought in two lionhead rabbit does and their eight kittens because “the kids kept letting the buck in with the does”. The family kept the buck as a pet.

A large group of pigs were also admitted to the sanctuary after a farmer who sold his property was let down by a potential buyer.

Mr Bowes said: “We ended up with 20-odd Mangalitza pigs and some of the sows were pregnant. We had over 40 with the piglets.”

The Hungarian breed pig has a distinctive curly-coat.

Many of the pigs have found homes with breeders and farmers in the region but some still remain.

A significant earner for the animal shelter is the F1 hybrid chickens they produce which are aptly named Bowes Moor brown, Bowes Moor blue and Bowes Moor black tip.

Mr Bowes said: “The Bowes Moor brown produces 320 free range eggs each year. It brings in a good income for us.”