Rescued Lab Bunnies, Donna and Figaro, Find Paradise at New Sanctuary Home
Jan. 8 2024, Published 10:18 a.m. ET
Two bunnies named Donna and Figaro have been rescued from a life of lab testing and forced breeding after the nonprofit Save the Buns intervened to save them. The two are now living a compassionate life at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in New York, per The Dodo.
Though animal testing is still legally required for various goods in the U.S. and throughout the world, at least these two bunnies have been saved from further destructive testing and premature death, and they have received the urgent veterinary care they sorely needed, per the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
Learn more about the two bunnies and their current status as they transition from hell to haven.
Bunnies named Donna and Figaro were rescued by Save the Buns and brought to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
Donna and Figaro were subjected to a life of trauma at a lab prior to Save the Buns facilitating their rescue to the sanctuary.
The Woodstock Farm Sanctuary provided urgent veterinary medical attention as they prepared the two bunnies for the transfer to their new, safe life.
Donna and Figaro were temporarily boarded at Reenies Rabbit Rescue in Salisbury Mills, N.Y. while they began the healing process and adjusting to life outside of a lab. During this time, Woodstock prepared for the arrival and safe integration of the two rescue bunnies into their own facilities.
According to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, the bunnies likely never received veterinary care in their life, and per The Dodo, likewise never hopped on grass or felt the warmth of the sun on their skin.
Donna and Figaro "had not been treated as if they were individuals up until that point,” Riki Higgins, a Woodstock Farm Sanctuary team member, said in an interview with The Dodo.
Rabbits are sensitive and social in nature, according to a Woodstock post on Instagram, and their timidness upon first being introduced to their new home is both heartbreaking and relieving that the past trauma is behind them.
The two bunnies are thriving at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
Since arriving at Woodstock, the two bunnies have been experiencing the natural things they should have all along, such as getting fresh air, hopping on real grass, and soaking up the sun.
Updates provided to The Dodo have been every bit as encouraging as they are heartwarming, as the two bunnies have been observed snuggling inside their house after having a good hop outside, and taking in the new sights and smells that come with living life outside of a laboratory.
It's safe two say the two bunnies are thriving in their new digs. Their new neighbors, including other bunnies Frankie and Snowbunny, were said by Woodstock to have been intrigued by Donna and Figaro and have since embraced them.
Additional updates over the following weeks have been positive, though Woodstock is in need of financial support due to the veterinary care the two rescued rabbits received following their examinations after leaving the laboratory.
Sanctuaries provide safe havens for abused, neglected, and otherwise harmed animals so that they may live safer, calmer, more natural lives than the previous horrors they may have experienced. Rescued animals like Donna and Figaro thriving these days are a testament to the healing and loving lives that farmed and lab-tested animals deservedly can enjoy.
