dlwelch said:
.22 to the brain. No bruising on the rabbit. There is no predeath
stress to the rabbit. They are quietly moved away from the rabbitry
and placed in a cage on the ground. They are usually munching on
grass when shot.
I think as the welfare of farmed animals comes more in the eye of
the public (thanks to the ARA's) that we may be forced to look closely
at our methods of dispatch to insure that we are abiding by humane
and accepted methods.
This is not intended to imply that anyone here is presently using an inhumane
method. :no:
Though I've never killed rabbits, I'd say that the 22. to the head seems by far the nicest for the rabbit. Just imagine dying the way you plan on killing the rabbits, they'll be feeling about the same way you would. Also, you don't have to look at the bunny if you don't want to. You can just put them in a loosely-woven sack and feel the ears, and then inbetween them (I've heard this is where you shoot them. If you live in the city and can't fire a gun, then I'd opt for smacking them between the ears with an empty beer bottle, but you'd have to be willing to hit them hard... real hard, otherwise all you'd do is cause them pain. Just give them a carrot or some lettuce, or even some lawn clippings, and they'll die before they know what hit them, happy as could be.
And I'm also not implying any other method is cruel, that's just my opinion on the least stressful methods.