The BBC programme Sort Your Life Out hosted by Stacey Solomon has been the subject of 1,500 complaints after animal rights organisations voiced their disapproval of the way rabbits were treated in the show.
On the show, the Loose Women star, who is 33 years old, and her crew declutter cluttered houses in the United Kingdom, and the homeowners get to select which of their personal possessions they want to keep and which they want to get rid of.
The family had been keeping their pet rabbits in their conservatory, so one of the first things that needed to be done was to establish a space outdoors for them to wander in the episode that aired at the beginning of this month.
On the other hand, when their new hutch was shown at the close of the programme, many viewers were quick to voice their dismay at what some viewers referred to as a “totally inappropriate hutch.”
‘That hutch is too small for anything other than a bolt hole! There’s enough bad rabbit rearing without this encouragement,’ another wrote.
The station reported receiving 1,502 viewer complaints in total.
The Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund said on its website that the situation was “unbelievable” and encouraged readers to lodge their complaints with the BBC directly.
Rabbit Rescue organisation Save a Fluff also shared on social media that it was ‘hard enough trying to raise awareness of hutches being detrimental to rabbit health’ without the broadcaster presenting one.
A recent post made by the RWAF was shared by a multitude of other individuals, in which the organisation said that “commercially offered rabbit hutches disseminate the impression that hutches are suitable shelter for pet rabbits.” [Citation needed]
‘They are not. Hutches are too small and can lead to the development of depression and physical deformities.’
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘The family’s pet rabbits usually live outside and were only living indoors for a short period of time after being neutered’.
‘They are therefore acclimatised to living in the garden.
‘The rabbits have full access to a wide, enclosed garden to roam around in, with the hutch being a place to come and go as they please during the day, as well as a safe and secure space for them to sleep in at night.’
Sort Your Life Out is streaming on BBC iPlayer.