What's New? at House Rabbit Society - February 2004


** SF/Marin Chapter Publishes Letter to the Editor

On January 11th, The San Francisco Chronicle ran a
restaurant review in the "Meet and Eat" column, which
featured a $19. rabbit dish. Marcy Schaaf, manager of the
San Francisco/Marin chapter of House Rabbit Society,
wrote a letter that was published in the Chronicle's Sunday
magazine a month later. The Sunday Chronicle is read by
literally millions of people. Way to go Marcy!
<http://tinyurl.com/yrzsz>http://tinyurl.com/yrzsz



** Rabbits in the News - Rabbit Haven

The following news item about Adopt a Rescued Rabbit
Month appeared in the Register-Pajaronian, a Central
California newspaper: http://tinyurl.com/2cbkf
Rabbit Haven has worked in Santa Cruz County since
1987, focusing on public education and adopting rabbits
out of the area shelters. Please visit them at:
<http://www.therabbithaven.org>www.therabbithaven.org
(They are in need of plush bunny toys for an Easter
campaign, so if you have any extras, please contact them.)



** Make Mine Chocolate! Easter Campaign

For the second year in a row, the Columbus Ohio chapter
is sponsoring its Make Mine Chocolate! Campaign. This
educational campaign focuses on the Easter season,
encouraging the public to make humane choices when
selecting Easter gifts. To read more about the program,
please go to: http://columbusrabbit.org/chocolate.html



** Rabbit Fur Becomes Popular in the US

The following article about the increasing popularity of
major designers using rabbit fur was published in the Wall
Street Journal in January 2004.

***
Roberta Amon, a fur lover who divides her time between
New York City and Switzerland, has a mink and a sable in
her collection of fur coats. But Ms. Amon has a confession
to make to her Park Avenue friends: She has fallen in love
with rabbit.

"They expect me to be in sable," says Ms. Amon, who
recently bought two rabbit coats. "But when they touch it,
they go wild."

Long the poor country cousin of chic mink, the lowly rabbit
is suddenly growing more fashionable. This season, London
designer Alexander McQueen chose rabbit to construct his
best-selling $2,000 bomber jacket covered with metallic
sequins. Dress designer Diane von Furstenberg used rabbit
to make a snowy white $1,750 cropped jacket.

Retailers are cottoning on to rabbit, too. In Manhattan,
Bergdorf Goodman is showcasing rabbit wraps, coats and
hats on its main floor next to the fine jewelry and status
handbag department. At Bloomingdale's, a $198 pale pink
rabbit poncho from BCBG Max Azia has become a hot
item. BCBG says one East Coast department store
recently sold 240 of the ponchos in a week.

Fueled by a growing demand for affordable luxury, and big
leaps in rabbit fur quality, rabbit is even catching on among
women who can afford sable, mink or chinchilla. Denise
LeFrak Calicchio, a New York socialite who last year
bought two rabbit tops by Sherry Cassin -- one in pink and
another in blue -- says her rabbit furs are more "fun" to wear
than her mink and sable coats while still feeling luxurious.
"Everything doesn't have to be the most expensive to feel
good," she says.

Much of rabbit's new higher status is due to a special breed
of rabbit known as the "Rex," whose fur is denser and silkier
than regular rabbit fur. The Rex's growing popularity,
especially among designers not normally known for working
with fur, is helping democratize the once elite fur market.
Now, instead of spending $20,000 and up on a floor-length
mink status symbol, fur fans are buying a rabbit vest, shawl
or poncho for just $150 to $2,500.

***
Following is a list of links to email addresses and /or guest
books for the stores and designers mentioned in the above
article. Please take a few minutes to send them your
thoughts about rabbits as companions and about the
inherent cruelty involved in the fur industry.

Diane von Furstenberg guestbook:
http://www.dvf.com/guestbook_frameset.html

Bergdorf Goodman guestbook:
http://www.ny.com/guestbook/

Bloomingdale's email form:
http://tinyurl.com/ze1n

Designer BCBG:
http://www.bcbg.com/sp04/web/index2.html

Alexander McQueen Head Office, street address:
10 Amwell Street, London, EC1R 1UQ



** HRS Chapter Item of the Month

The Indiana House Rabbit Society chapter is selling note
cards that would be perfect to carry your Easter messages
to friends and family. An active and very talented volunteer,
Sandra Connelly, created these beautiful renditions of
rabbits she has known and loved.

The cards are printed on high quality card stock, are blank
inside and come in sets of four: http://tinyurl.com/3ckts On
the same Boutique page, you will find other items which
also benefit Indiana HRS: http://tinyurl.com/2cqlv

Please help support the dedicated and ambitious work of
this very active House Rabbit Society chapter. 100% of the
proceeds from any of these items go directly to Indiana
House Rabbit Society.


** House Rabbit Society Chapter Updates

House Rabbit Society's partnership with ASPCA to
sponsor "Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month" this month has
been quite a success. HRS has sent out over 600 of our
new "Did you know" posters to animal shelters and rescue
groups across North America. And as you can see, our
chapters have been busy in their own ways in educating
the public about rabbits.

In the mountain states, the Colorado House Rabbit Society
chapter (http://www.coloradohrs.com) just put in a new
septic tank and plumbing which is the first step towards
building 16 new aluminum 'runs' for their sanctuary. The
chapter is also excited to report that the Boulder College
of Massage Therapy developed a new program of
massaging animals, based on a year's worth of students
training at the Colorado HRS sanctuary. Evidently the
results have been fantastic, with shy rabbits starting to think
people are wonderful, badly stressed rabbits starting to
relax, etc. The chapter is now offering massage classes
themselves!

In sunny Southern California, the San Diego chapter
(http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/index.html) is
getting ready for their Spring Open House slated for
Saturday, March 27th, which will include refreshments and
a raffle. If you are in the area, stop by and shop for bunny
supplies or gifts for yourself (including their beautiful new
sterling silver prayer box adorned with rabbits and hearts).

In San Francisco, the SF/Peninsula chapter
(http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-francisco/index.html)
held a special bunny class for staffers from Peninsula
Humane Society and showcased one of their rabbits on a
local news program.

In the south, our newest chapter, Alabama EARS
(http://www.alabamaears.org), participated in 15
educational events last year, 6 of which the chapter hosted,
were featured on two local television shows, produced the
first two issues of their chapter newsletter, and even were
featured in the DoDahDay parade! They are now gearing
up for their March BYOB (bring your own bunny) party,
with bunny boutique, photographer and contest. They are
also proud to announce that one of their local shelters is
working with the area veterinary school to develop a
medical protocol for rabbits at the shelter.

In New England, the Rhode Island chapter
(http://www.rirabbits.org) just received their state license to
operate as an animal shelter, one of eight private shelters
in RI, which includes other organizations such as the Rhode
Island SPCA. Animal Print magazine is doing a cover story
about rabbits for their March issue, written by the chapter
manager and chapter secretary.

The New York City chapter (http://www.rabbitcare.org)
has been working on new fundraising bunny-bracelets with
the generous help of jewelry designer Kim Renk Dryer, to
be combined with in-store promotional materials about
house rabbits. The New Jersey chapter
(http://www.njhrs.com) is proud to announce they just
received their tax-exempt determination letter from the
IRS, after an especially long process. NJ HRS's chapter
manager will also be speaking about living with house
rabbits on the regional radio program, Animal Talk, on
March 29th. NJ HRS is also holding the first of several
planned Volunteer Drives on March 21st at a Central
New Jersey library. Busy Bunny treats for bunnies will be
for sale as well as Jenni Original Soy Candles to raise
funds for medical costs. The chapter hopes to recruit new
bunny friends.


On the East Coast, the Maryland/DC/NoVa chapter
(http://www.rabbitsinthehouse.org) just had a very
successful booth at the World of Pets Expo, followed by a
visit and talk by Dr. Susan Smith of the Wisconsin chapter,
who spoke on rabbit nutrition. In March, the chapter will
have a booth at Pet Fest America, sponsored by the
Humane Society of the United States, and in April they will
have a booth at the Super Pet Expo.

Up in Canada, our British Columbia (<http://www.vrra.org>http://www.vrra.org)
representative reports that due to HRS's influence, shelters
are implementing rabbit adoption forms, adoption fees have
gone up, and spays and neuters are being performed on
rabbits. Overall treatment is improving at four local shelters
and ongoing training for shelter staff is continuing, thanks to
the good work of our Canadian volunteers.

In the Midwest, the PETCO adoption program being
piloted by the Minnesota chapter
(http://www.mnhouserabbit.org) is doing very well and
recently expanded from two stores to four stores in the
Twin Cities metro area. In addition, there are plans in the
works to continue to expand the pilot into 30 or more
stores. Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month appears to be a
huge success in Minnesota. So far this month, the total
number of rabbits looking for a home in the chapter's
region has dropped from an average of around 100 to an
average in the low 70s!

Also in the Midwest, Wisconsin House Rabbit Society
(http://www.wisconsinhrs.org) continues to expand its
operations across the state. Wisconsin volunteers now
operate rabbit socialization and exercise programs in Ozaki,
Waukesha and Dane County Humane Societies, and at
Milwaukee's Wisconsin Humane Society. Upcoming spring
events include Easter education events at the Madison area
Mounds Pet Food Warehouses, the Wisconsin Pet Expo
in Madison in May, and their first ever Bunny Day for
Milwaukee, to be held at the Humane Association of
Waukesha on April 3rd.

Finally, the Kalamazoo, Michigan chapter
(http://michiganhrs.org) is hosting its annual rabbit care and
training workshops at the Kalamazoo Humane Society in
early March. This event has been the highest attended
workshop at the Humane Society for several years running.

To contribute directly to the work of any of the above
chapters, please visit their websites.


** Wear Your Support for the House Rabbit Society

A tee shirt? A hat? How about a nightshirt or a new coffee
cup? All carry the HRS logo and 100% of the profits go
directly to help the rabbits. Check them out at:
http://cafeshops.com/hrs,hrs2,hrs3



** Join House Rabbit Society

If you are not a member of the House Rabbit Society,
please take this opportunity to join us. A yearly tax-
deductible membership costs only $18 or $25 for
international memberships. All members receive the
Society's newsletter, House Rabbit Journal.
http://rabbit.org/hrs-info/joining.html



** On behalf of the rabbits, thank you. **

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House Rabbit Society
http://www.rabbit.org

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HRS, 148 Broadway Richmond, CA 94804
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