Customer Reviews

Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural and Cultural History of a Misunderstood Creature

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I've lived with rabbits all my life, but it was not until I first picked up a copy of The House Rabbit Handbook in 1993 that it dawned on me that I could really let a rabbit not only into my home, but into my life, my family, and essentially, into my heart. That book was a turning point for me. Stories Rabbits Tell is another such singular, profoundly meaningful book, though it is quite different from the Handbook; it is more academic, and requires a great deal of fortitude and intelligent thinking from the reader (though of course what the Handbook asks of us in terms of necessary bunny-proofing does, too!).It seems to me that the dissenting reviews on this site have a fundamental desire to dismiss anyone who questions possible mistreatment of rabbits -- most of these negative reviews really don't seem to have much of anything to do with this book at all, and I would be surprised if many of the reviewers had actually read it. If they had, they would see that Susan Davis and Margo Demello are quite open about their methodologies, and that they go to great pains to present a balanced view of any topic they present -- even vivisection.The fact is that almost no Americans know the suffering that animals experience so that we can benefit from them in myriad ways--ways that most people never even consider; Davis and Demello discuss this. In turn, people get upset. It's an upsetting reality -- to paraphrase Pete Seeger, quoted in the book, if it upsets us just to read or hear about it, imagine how much it pains the animals who experience this suffering.But that is a relatively small part of the book, and I would be very sorry to see readers discouraged from reading this marvelous, rich, and brilliantly researched, argued, and written life/history/cultural review of rabbits. I feel as if I am getting to know rabbits all over again, and for the first time, in some ways--rabbits in the wild, in other people's homes or yards (oh no!), in meat and fur farms (not the 'friendly' or clean facilities you may have imagined), and in isolating research labs. Gazing into the faces of my three house rabbits when I look up from this book's pages, I marvel at the depth and beauty of these creatures -- and I hope that this brilliant book will not only open up the possibility of such a rich and rewarding connection to others, but that it will also allow even those people who have never thought of rabbits at all to know that they are indeed a truly wonderful creature.I congratulate the authors on their tremendously well-done book, and I urge readers interested in everything from animals to folklore to politics to the medical industry to hunting to history to --well, everything -- to read it. And I thank them for taking the time to write a book I have been waiting to read for many many years without even specifically knowing that this was what I wanted and needed. Regarding the chapters on abuse and vivisection: I am grateful that they were included even though I cried reading them, because sometimes we do have to read things that are painful and difficult, not because we want to, but because they are true, and because it is important that we know the truth, so that then we can make of it what we will and choose our own actions from there.Finally, this book makes me want to be kind to those around me; it makes me feel even more conscious of and grateful to the rabbits with whom I share my life. It's one of the most special qualities of Stories Rabbits Tell, I think: the intimate attention given to the details of rabbits' quirks, narratives, frustrations, losses, sufferings, triumphs. The authors have taken great care in the way they have presented the lives of rabbits; throughout, they respect and cherish the individuality of each rabbit life, at the same time that they discuss trends in the understanding of and response to/use of rabbits at large. Thinking of each animal as an individual, with real feelings, needs, rights--anyone who has a beloved pet knows what this means in the particular, but how about looking beyond that? Davis and Demello opened my eyes to sights and realities I did not want to see; because I love my own dear rabbits, I cannot ignore the individuality of all other rabbits, of all animals. It is a philosophy that may boggle the mind of those in commercial rabbit industries, or those who wear fur but one that I find to be perfectly respectable and plausible, and even practical--and certainly well-argued. So now, I'm off to hug my bunnies, and count my blessings that we've found each other.Buy and read this book -- you will benefit from it immeasurably.

"Stories Rabbits Tell" has many lessons:

- Rabbits are quite a diverse lot. Some are devious, some are gregarious, some are industrious, some are shy, some are flirtatious, some are regular "snuggle bunnies." Some rabbits are like General Patton, born to be leaders. Others are content to be part of the rank and file. Still others are like branch managers, overseeing a small department (which may include non-rabbits).

- Life as a rabbit raised for meat is desolate. In large breeding operations, virtually every aspect of the rabbits' personalities are suppressed. Every fundamental activity other than eating, drinking, and sleeping is denied. No exercise, bonding with others, playing, or exploring. The rabbits are treated as, and perhaps eventually become, soulless commodities.

- Many of the product tests performed on laboratory rabbits are alarmingly innacurate, have never been validated, and are not required by law.

- There are a multitude of portrayals of rabbits in popular culture, almost all of them wrong.

- Being in a room with twenty-two rabbits and a plate of banana muffins will brighten your day, and is probably as good an introduction to rabbits as any.

As the authors point out, rabbits occupy several seemingly contraditory niches in human society: an object of affection for children, a favorite target of hunters, a laboratory subject, a sex symbol, and a family pet. For the most part, our treatment of rabbits is nothing to be proud of. Humans have inflicted every imaginable type of cruelty on these creatures, sometimes with gratuitous malice and viciousness.

But that is slowly changing. Consumers have made it clear that they prefer animal-friendly products. A growing number of enlightened scientists are working strenuously to replace crude animal experiments with non-animal alternatives (which tend to be more reliable and cheaper). Animal shelters are increasingly taking in abandoned rabbits and providing them with enriched, spacious habitats. The House Rabbit Society and rabbit rescue leagues across the country are introducing people to the joys of having a rabbit as a live-in companion.

"Stories Rabbits Tell" is two-thirds disturbing and one-third encouraging if not enrapturing. That's probably about the right balance if one is going to thoroughly chronicle our relationship with rabbits, as the authors have masterfully done. They convey the beauty and mystery of rabbits, but don't shy away away from exposing the various horrors experienced by rabbits at the hands of humans.

Rabbits may be the most underrated non-obscure animal in the world. Viewed optimistically, this means that rabbits have the potential to become much more highly regarded and better treated. "Stories Rabbits Tell" will help change the public's perception of rabbits: from expendable pests or "dumb" livestock to complex, often very engaging individuals worthy of our respect and kindness. Then we will have new stories to tell.

As a rabbit lover, and a person who hopes to be a vet someday, I loved this book. Every part of it was interesting, though some was disturbing. The authors take an intimate look at rabbits. They offer much information that is difficult to find elsewhere.

I found the biological information on rabbits to be very interesting, especially regarding their evolution. The authors make mention of a few very rare and endangered species of rabbits.

They offer many stories of house rabbits. Stories that may shock those people who don't know the joys and complexities of living with a house rabbit.

I also enjoyed reading about the rabbit as a symbol in our culture, both loved and hated, often misunderstood. I have often said to my rabbits, "Silly Rabbit", without thinking about where this phrase came from and what it indicates about our culture's idea of rabbits.

The chapters on the rabbit meat, fur, and pet industry, as well as the use of rabbits in laboratories, were informative and inspiring, though disheartening. It is shocking to realize how we view these creatures in so many different ways, but important to realize that reform and regulation are needed. The authors present the information realistically without trying to sugar coat the truth or shock their readers.

An educational, informative, and important read for all those who love rabbits or wish to learn more about them. After reading this book, you will never utter the phrase "just a rabbit" again, if it hasn't left your vocabulary already.

I was so incredibly pleased to see this book, and more than the average reader. Why? Because I used to breed rabbits. While I always took better care of my rabbits than most other breeders, my rabbits still spent nearly all their lives in cages. I don't care what rabbit breeders tell you. "fancy" rabbit breeders (breeders who dont raise rabbits for meat but just for show) literally give their rabbit no purpose in life other than to win them prizes. I know firsthand. After seven years of breeding I decided to bring in my oldest bunny as a house pet, but with no intention to stop showing rabbits, for I was in my prime, winning best in shows and best in breeds right and left. He changed everything. And the fact that i dropped breeding was a big deal. I had the highest ranking of all youth minilop breeders in the middle east coast. For youth contests in the middle east coast, I was always in the top. My heart and soul was to be the best breeder and I can honestly say that I succeeded in many ways. My point in saying that is to emphasize the amount Flopsy effected me. I gave up a three-year winnign streak, and the title of being on top in the rabbit showing world, because a 7 year old house rabbit brought me back to reality: just because rabbits fit in a cage, that doesnt mean they should be caged. This book is a step in the right direction to educating people. In reality, 99.9% of breeders do not give their rabbits a good quality life. Rabbits should not be caged. I wish every rabbit breeder would bring a bunny into their home. Maybe then they'd realize that their 100 rabbits outside in tiny cages are lonely and ridiculously bored, as they have nothing whatsoever to do but eat and sleep. This book reveals reality, as harsh as it may be. My hope is that this book will fall into the hands of breeders everywhere. If you haven't been a breeder who "converted" to house rabbits, you've no idea how terribly sad a caged rabbits life is. Honestly, you need to have a free-range house bunny to know what I mean. I thank God that someone took the time to write about this serious issue.

This is not a book of rabbit stories, per se, but rather the story of the rabbit in its entirety, primarily as it relates to humans. This includes the rabbit as a wild creature, as beloved companion, destructive pest, commercial commodity (meat,fur,pet), cultural and contemporary icon, object of ancient beliefs, and the basis of all kinds of experiments. A more complete discussion of the place occupied by the rabbit throughout the centuries is hard to imagine. The only aspect not covered in any detail is the breeding of rabbits as show animals.

Some readers are upset with the authors' reports of the conditions that rabbits are often kept in, as though these reports reflect on everyone who keeps rabbits for anything other than companions. I find these reports quite matter of fact and unbiased. There is no implication that, because some exploitations of rabbits are inhumane, all are.

This book will give anyone who reads it an incredibly broad understanding of, as the authors put it, "a misunderstood creature." I would suggest that the rabbit is not only misunderstood, but that few people have any understamding of the rabbit at all. Some of us know the rabbit as a beloved companion animal. Some of us know them as a source of profit. Some know them as a complex system of genes to be manipulated to bring about improvements in the breeds, or to create new breeds. Some know them as an effective laboratory for studying the results of exposure to a variety of things. But few of us know the rabbit in its boadest scope. "Stories Rabbits Tell" is an effective means we can all use to broaden our understanding of this complex and fascinating creature.

I have always been impressed by this book from the first time I ever read it. It was apparently impressive enough to someone else that I found I had my first copy stolen, and I am now on my second copy. What impresses me most about this book is not that the authors themselves live with companion rabbits, nor is it their myriad qualifications for its writing. It is not their controversial coverage of the commercial meat and pet industries, and neither is it of the research and experimental industries. It is not even the clinical lessons from anthropologic and cross- cultural research. I am most impresssed by the fact that this book was ever written at all. I am most impressed that this book, once written, ever saw publication.

Rabbits are an almost globally reviled animal; their only redeeming attributes being their hoppy legs and wiggly noses, round faces and wide eyes, suitable only for the subject of anthropomorphosizing these characteristics for children's books. Yet it is that same round face with wide eyes that goads us on to greater and greater acts of pesticidal warfare. To many, they are simply unworthy of any sort of cultural or historical study. This book, its authors, and its publishers, disagree.

The book is an interesting social study of these opposing aspects of the rabbit. Part delight, and part despair, part childhood friend and part adult foe, rabbits and their roles in human history are an interesting study in human cultural contradiction, which is the pervasive theme of the book. Many have become so bogged down in their joy or anger over specific chapters of the book that the overall theme of the book has become lost in personal interests.

I respectfully disagree with some that the agenda of the authors in the chapters regarding animal testing, breeding and the commercial meat industry is to advocate animal rights. I do believe that the authors are interested in animal welfare, however. There is a difference. This debate among the reviews is neither here nor there in relation to the subject of the book. Whatever you believe the authors intended with those chapters is irrelevant. The book's overall aim is to guide the reader through our cultural views of the rabbit, in all their glorious confliction. This is what makes this book worth reading.

The authors never deny they have a bias; they live with companion rabbits and are bound to have certain feelings on specific subjects. They make that clear. They also present the facts gathered on each topic in relation to the underlying theme of the book, which is the more important aspect of this excercise. In this they have succeeded. They draw no conclusion, leaving it open to the reader to decide how they feel about rabbits now that they have an understanding of them and their history within our culture. They obviously hope that their readers come away from the experienced changed, yet they leave that change open to the reader's discretion as to if they come out in favor of rabbits, against them, or, like most of us, a mixture of both.

The authors are realistic in their expectations that the majority of their readers will have had some interest in rabbits in the first place to have made the decision to pick up the book. Those who have no interest in rabbits (and they are the majority of the populace) will most likely choose not to read about them at all. However, it is these readers, should they decide to delve into the world of the rabbit, that will be the least emotionally invested in any particular chapter to appreciate the overall arc of the book; that we as humans are capable of, in equal parts, loving and hating another creature so much that we iconize and demonize them in one breath.

As a rabbit lover, I often feel that my favorite animal has slipped under the radar in terms of intelligence, affection, and worth as a house pet. If you have a pet rabbit, this book is for you! The first few chapters were very entertaining and it was fun to read about bunny stories and antics. But soon, I found myself gaining a deeper perspective on my beloved bunny-friends and learned a lot about them and how they are perceived in our society. When I finished reading it, I found myself looking online for a way to contact the authors and THANK THEM for such a beautifully written book on rabbits...and it's about time!

This was a fascinating and helpful book full of valuable information about Rabbits. This book really helps one to understand all about Rabbits. The authors are two very knowledgeable individuals with a wealth of practical and hands on Rabbit experience. They gathered information from others with much Rabbit knowledge and experience also. A must have book for every Rabbit caretaker.

A labor of love, this is. Frankly, it's a book I wish I had thought to write! For those of us who enjoy our pet rabbits, David and Demello are kindred spirits who (unlike most "normal," non-rabbit people) don't mind staying up all night to talk bunnies.

Unfortunately, the book starts out a little dry and does run a bit long. But I can't fault them for that. They have such deep affection for the rabbit, it's infectious. They have given me new insight into the rabbit's peculiar place in popular culture, folklore, art and history. The rabbit lives as a symbol of everything from sex to spring, cunning to cowardice -- I'll never look at mine the same way again.

There's also a good attempt at real and fresh reporting on issues rarely touched on by mainstream media: rabbit farming, experimentation, the politics of using rabbits to fight hunger, the tensions between breeders and rescuers.

My favorite section: living with house rabbits. For those of us waiting years for an updated version of the "House Rabbit Handbook," that chapter is a great read, full of real anecdotes, black and white photos, and new information.

It's not easy to turn the story of a tiny, fuzzy animal into a serious, full-length book. But this account succeeds gloriously. In chapter after chapter, I could see the enormous efforts these writers went to in order to find what's interesting and important in the rabbit's story, and to lay out its most controversial elements fairly. Hooray, hooray. This is truly a gift to people who raise animals--and a badly needed moral weathervane for the industries that do business with animals.