T&S Rabbits finally shut down

24 Aug

NEWS: Animal activists have been celebrating the closure of the last rabbit farm run by T&S Rabbits, a shady unofficial company owned by businessman Phil Kerry.

Kerry has announced his retirement from rabbit farming, citing the protests at his farms that activists have been carrying out for months and a recent blockade of a quarry in Ancaster in which he is a shareholder, and on Saturday handed over the 202 rabbits from the farm in East Bridgford, Nottinghamshire. The rabbits are being taken to sanctuaries and being rehomed.

The closure of the farm and Kerry’s retirement from rabbit farming are victories not just for the rabbits but also for the fight against the expansion of animal farming using new species. While rabbit farming is common elsewhere - around 330 million rabbits, mostly kept in barren cages, are slaughtered for meat every year in the European Union - it is not an established industry in the UK. Kerry had previously claimed there was strong demand for rabbit meat in the UK, though there is no evidence to suggest that this is the case, and that rabbit meat was a sustainable, healthy choice. This justification for trying to expand his rabbit farming business based on its purported sustainability is the same justification used for other novel forms of animal farming such as insects and octopus. No animal-based options will stack up on the sustainability front against plant-based ones, and we should not be pursuing new types of animal farming as a solution to the problems with our food system.

Kerry and his employee, Anne Wright, who was described as the manager of the farm in East Bridgford - though Shut Down T&S Rabbits argue she was just employed to stay on site and didn’t actually run anything - allege that activists have been abusive and have vandalised property, as well conducting night raids on the farms. In March, 11 rabbits were rescued from another farm in Nottinghamshire, an incident which is under police investigation. Two activists were arrested at the quarry blockade last week on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

Kerry criticised the activists for “picking on” his business when there are thousands of tonnes of rabbit meat imported to the UK from Europe. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that in fact only about 190 tonnes of rabbit meat are imported to the UK every year. Kerry also tried to defend his business by saying that eating rabbits was the same as eating other animals. "Lambs are still animals, and ducks, and turkeys, and chickens, and pigs, they are all animals," he told the BBC. Indeed they are, and animal activists equally object to farming them and have conducted numerous undercover investigations into the conditions on such farms. It might seem to Kerry like he was being unfairly targeted, but stopping a smaller operation from scaling up is relatively easier than trying to shut down a huge well-established industry. What he also failed to grasp was that just because millions of other animals are already being raised in terrible conditions doesn’t diminish the suffering of the rabbits he kept or their right to live out their lives in comfort.

Since Kerry handed over the remaining rabbits to activists, the extent of the suffering endured by the animals has become apparent. SNORS Sanctuary, which takes in special needs and older rabbits and has supported the campaign to shut down T&S, says there is evidence of the rabbits’ trauma and ill health including ear cankers and dental issues. Shut Down T&S Rabbits has a fundraiser going to help raise money for the rabbits’ veterinary care, which is estimated to be around £290 for each rabbit.

Claire Hamlett is a freelance journalist, writer and regular contributor at Surge. Based in Oxford, UK, Claire tells stories that challenge systemic exploitation of and disregard for animals and the environment and that point to a better way of doing things.