Why Work With Humans When You Can Work With Bunnies? We Speak To A Bun Refuge Owner

Carolyn Sugden has spent the last two years opening her home to unlucky bunnies, hoping to give them a second chance.

As the owner of a refuge, a home business co-owner, a mother to three (now adult) children and a soon-to-be veterinary nursing student, Carolyn lives a very busy life.

Hers is an extraordinarily time-consuming job and it’s important to note that even our interview was conducted while Carolyn and her team of volunteers were continuing to feed and groom bunnies.

The Bluey & Alice Bunny Refuge is located in Cockatoo, Victoria and aims to take in unwanted and neglected rabbits, provide health services including de-sexing and vaccinations, and then find them a forever home.

It all began with Bluey and Alice, Carolyn’s first bunnies, who unfortunately perished in an electrical storm. Following this, Carolyn took on a few foster bunnies from a friend who ran her own refuge. The passion for caring for these animals also stemmed from the lack of protection provided to these animals under Australian law.

“Bunnies aren’t covered by animal protection acts at all,” Carolyn explained, on account of their 'pest' status in Australia.

Carolyn has opened her home to more than 80 bunnies, following an unexpectedly large intake in the last few weeks. (More than 40 of these bunnies came from a hoarder who had been living in their own waste, in a small room and in terrible condition.)

When asked what it’s like to share your home with so many pets, Carolyn can’t help but laugh and smile.

“I love it,” she said. “You do get used to it, they are very quiet.”

Her son, Jesse, has a contrasting view: “It’s not brilliant... because the bunnies take up a lot of space, it’s quite difficult to keep needing to bring in more, so they are starting to spill out into the yard in the bunny gardens and also into the house itself.”

“We really do rely on volunteers to help us,” Carolyn said.

Jesse elaborates: “The thing is, it is a very busy job taking care of lots of bunnies—a lot of them need feeding twice a day; sometimes even more, depending on how many are in cages. So, having to feed that many, it can be a very time consuming task [for Carolyn], as can the cleaning”.

This is where their team comes in.

Behind the face of the organisation is a group of volunteers who dedicate their time to ensuring the welfare of the animals.

“People get a sense of achievement and satisfaction for bringing a timid animal out of its shell,” Carolyn explained.

“Even when people are cleaning, it’s not just cleaning. It is patting buns, talking to them, making them more approachable and getting them used to human contact. People feel the sense of worth in helping something that is weaker than them.”

Twenty-year-old Shannon is one such staff member and volunteer at the refuge. A young mum working two jobs and volunteering, all while studying, she has been helping out at the refuge since the beginning. Shannon explained, “It takes a whole team of people to make a refuge run.”

“Without everyone we wouldn’t be able to save and re-home as many buns as we have. More than 100 have been re-homed and it just shows with a bit of love and dedication, anyone can make a difference”.

Although a lot of the work at the refuge is handling bunnies, to get them used to the human touch, there is a dark side too. The Bluey & Alice Bunny Refuge takes in a lot of neglected rabbits, many in shocking conditions.

“I had one bunny that looked fine, but it had been in a teen unit where it had been [exposed to narcotics] its whole life,” Carolyn said.

The Bluey & Alice Refuge, as well as many other animal welfare associations, always require as much help as possible. For anyone who has ever considered volunteering, Carolyn had this to say: “Don’t ever think that you can’t help at a rescue. Even if you can’t help physically, even $5 a week is a huge help, everything helps.”

Olivia Blasi is one of Student Edge’s student contributors. Learn more about the contributor program.

Photo: Facebook (The Bluey & Alice Bunny Refuge)