In light of the multiple terrorist attacks around the world, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by these heinous and outrageous crimes. Though quite impossible, I hope that those responsible for these horrendous acts come to their senses. It really does not make sense and cowardice to take the lives of innocent civilians.

That said, hatred does not only exist in the hearts and minds of terrorists. It exists in all facets of life be it at work, in social groups, or in hobbies such as the rabbit raising hobby. In almost 9 years of working with the Holland Lop, I have experienced and had to deal with the best and worst of human behaviors. It can be especially intense when competition is involved. If drama don’t happen to you, it could well be someone that you know. It happens so often, you can almost say “same shit, different day”.

With so much happening throughout the internet, on can safely say that “you should not believe everything you read on the internet”. In recent years, I have seen how the internet especially the social medias can be misused and abused. Information flow too fast and false news can be circulated within seconds. Nowadays, it is a norm for me to verify and filter through news before sharing them with my peers. A recent example was the kidnap case whereby certain social media users claimed that the child has been found even though he was not. Such updates can pose great danger to the child if the effort to locate him ceases half-way.

What I am trying say is that, with social medias, information can be circulated too fast and can reach extremely huge audiences – accurate or otherwise. It really can be a two edged sword – used to the advantage or disadvantage of an establishment. Consumers today have the power to make or break a business. The reputation of an establishment can easily be tarnished with a nasty review by a customer.

In terms of the rabbit hobby, there are no exceptions.

“The breeder sold me a rabbit with bad teeth”, “The rabbit died and the breeder refused replacement”, and the list of complains goes on.

First of all, I must mention that for me personally, selling rabbit is not something I like doing. The reason being, people in general tend to forget that we are dealing with a series of VARIABLES and we know that VARIABLES may change for whatever reason. More so for a variable call LIFE.

A living thing can be the most unpredictable of all the variables in life and one that no human have control over. Even as humans, we ourselves have no control over our condition. The best we can do to minimize the possibility of being ill is through prevention – vaccination and supplements.

Now, if you purchase a rabbit from a breeder and when the rabbit dies in your care, the breeder should not be blamed. I would like to think that no breeder is going to put his/her reputation on the line (and with benefit of doubt) by selling you a sick rabbit. In this case, no one should be blamed because we are really dealing with a variable here. But, do know that a compassionate breeder can offer a replacement and that really depends on the breeder’s part. The buyer should not expect it but can politely suggest or ask. As a buyer, we have up to the point of being presented the purchased rabbit to reject or reverse the transaction if there are discrepancies or the rabbit seemed to not be in satisfactory condition. Make sure you read the breeder’s sales policy and only proceed to deal with him or her if you agree with the policy.

As of late, buyers have resorted to using social media platform to raise their grievances. Again, it can be a two edged sword but the proper procedure is to approach the said breeder (directly) first to work things out if the argument is valid – the rabbit has been swapped and etc. A rabbit that came home and died is normally not a valid argument for the same reason mentioned above.

Raising the issue and attempt to tarnish the reputation of the breeder on social media should be left as the last resort only if the dispute was not dealt with professionally, politely, and in good faith.

Bear in mind that other reputable breeders are also observing such social media platforms and may refuse your inquiries in future if they find you being a nasty buyer.

Social media – the two edges sword….

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