Suzie-Q is one rabbit that never got to experience what all furry animals should enjoy. She did not get to hop and play with other animals, nor see what the great outdoors is like. Before her rescue, the bunny with the white and brown streaks was marked as a laboratory animal and was used for practice shots by students for their research, according to The Dodo.
Eventually, Suzie-Q was supposed to be sold for meat. But thankfully, one of the students decided she should instead go to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. In her new home, Suzie-Q could freely roam in a protected pen with a ground that is covered in grass.
When she was ready to explore and meet other animals, which would become her new family, the bunny was happily set free by her caretakers. It was her first time to experience stepping on grass and smelling it. The caretakers were able to take a photo of the bunny doing this and it looked as if she was really relishing the moment!
Over 25 million animals are used as test subjects in laboratories and 200,000 of these are rabbits, according to the Humane Society of the United States.The rabbits are used for toxicity testing for medication and treatments that may be harmful to humans. The environment in the labs are hardly humane and the tests are "particularly noxious to rabbits, causing great stress, weakening their immune systems, and making them more prone to illness," according to the American Anti-Vivisection Society. Additionally, the rabbits hardly get a chance to be taken out of their cage.
Suzie-Q is quite lucky that a kind-hearted student changed her fate. It is the hope of animal sanctuaries like the Woodstock Farm that the rest of the test lab rabbits will be finally rescued and freed, so they, too, can enjoy the grass.
For other pet rabbit rescue stories, check out this Dutch Mix taken in by the San Diego Human Society, as previously reported on HNGN.
