Animal lover spends £50,000 to save over 200 bunnies

Paige Hadlow, 26, is celebrating the four-year anniversary of giving rabbits ''a second chance'' at her rescue centre this Easter.

After previously working in a high-street pet shop, she gave it all up in January 2019, after becoming disillusioned about the treatment of the animals they sold on.

Her charity, Clement Rabbit Rescue, is based at her home in Wrexham, where she currently lives with 24 rabbits.

Paige, who lives alone besides her furry friends, offers a nationwide service, and regularly travels all over the UK to come to the aid of bunnies.

After making sure they're healthy, she tries to find each animal a suitable forever home with prospective owners going through strict vetting.

The rescue centre is entirely funded by Paige, who works full time in the Veterinary industry, so she can plough resources into her passion project.

She also wants to warn people away from buying rabbits impulsively at Easter as she says they are often mistreated and rehomed.

Paige, who has spent up to £8k in one month alone on animal care, said: “Working in a pet shop was eye opening, I was really shocked and felt I had to step in.

''I love them so much, they’re all so interesting in their own unique way and are a joy to watch.

"Contrary to people's perception, they're not actually that hectic and they are really clean around the house, so I've never had any issues with mess.

“Gaining a rabbit’s trust is just the best feeling in the world.

“They don’t naturally gravitate towards people so knowing that I have that sort of connection with them is really special.”

Easter is a busy time of year for the rescue and Paige does everything she can to spread the right message.

She said: “I don’t tend to rehome any of the rabbits over Easter time to avoid impulse buys or anything like that.

“I spend a lot of Easter time on social media trying to spread the right message and educating people.”

Paige started working in a pet shop in January 2016 but quickly grew concerned about the welfare of the rabbits.

PIC: Just two of the furry bunch who live at Paige's Wrexham home.

Paige said: ''The animals there were sold as products and that’s just not right.

''I knew I had to do something drastically different to help as many rabbits as possible.''

Eventually, after a year at the pet shop, Paige grew tired and took matters into her own hands.

In March 2017, she rescued crossbreed Bertie, now six, from the shop she worked at, who was due to be put down and she nursed back to health.

In January 2019, Paige quit her job and lived off her savings to start-up the Clement Rabbit Rescue centre.

She spent £3,500 on equipment to launch the rescue, including a new roof for her garden shed to house the bunnies.

Paige said: “I had to paint and decorate it all as well, which mum Carla, 52, helped with.

“She is my biggest supporter - she just wants me to be happy.

“I even had a logo made for the rescue by my tattoo artist, which features my two pet rabbits, Bertie and Binkie, six.”

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Paige has a rigorous vetting process including adoption forms and home visits to ensure the rabbits have the right environment at their new home.

After the first lockdown lifted, she got an influx of rabbits from people she believes went back to work and “didn’t have time” for them.

Since the rescue started, she has worked with over 200 rabbits and regularly receives updates from their new owners.

Paige added: “I get lots of pictures of the rabbits I’ve managed to rehome which is lovely.

“It’s very fulfilling knowing I’ve changed a bunny’s life and found them a new, loving home.”

Despite holding down a full-time job in a veterinary surgery, Paige wakes up at 5.45am to sort out all the litter trays, cleans excess hay and replenishes food and water bowls.

She spends up to £400 a month on supplies for the rabbits including £60 a week on hay.

She said: “Rabbits love to chew things, so I need to replenish toys quite a lot.

“I’ve had to put a gate on my kitchen because I once had a rabbit chew through my cooker wire.

“I do everything myself, from caring for them to the social media, which can be very time consuming but it’s worth it."

Paige Hadlow (Image: swns)

Paige is now thrilled to celebrate nearly four years of her rescue centre.

She has experienced more difficult rescue cases, but Paige is determined to help as many rabbits as she can.

"The worst case I've had was when I rescued eight-week-old Hope," she said.

"She had been shot with a pellet gun on the back right of her leg.

"I was given the option to euthanise her which was an instant no-no.

“After a long and challenging process, Hope underwent surgery and made a full recovery.

“She's been rehomed, and I couldn’t be happier.

"The rescue is my life, and I won’t ever stop it completely - I’m totally consumed by it all and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”