Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund Raises Awareness of Rabbit Neglect

Challenge:

Rabbit welfare is one of the most overlooked areas of animal protection in the UK. With 100,000 rabbits abandoned every year, a widespread lack of public education, and no licensing regulations for rabbit breeders, the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) sought to drive both awareness and action.

The campaign aimed to influence legislation, calling for rabbit breeders to be licensed in the same way as dog breeders and to expose the hidden suffering behind Britain’s third most popular pet.

Approach:

We aligned the campaign with the Easter Bank Holiday, a peak moment when families are especially receptive to the idea of rabbits as pets, ensuring our message landed when awareness was most needed. With this strategic timing, we launched a targeted broadcast push designed to thrust RWAF’s mission into the national spotlight.

To humanise the issue and drive emotional connection, we identified and pitched powerful casestudies that revealed the true scale of rabbit neglect. By facilitating location filming at rescue centres across the UK, we gave broadcasters authentic, compelling access, leading to widespread ITV coverage, and laying the groundwork for broader media momentum.

We provided powerful assets to maximise newsroom uptake: access to eight rescue centres, expert interviews with vet Emma Milne, and the authoritative voice of RWAF CEO Rae Walters. This ensured broadcasters had a wide variety of voices and visuals to work with, whether they wanted emotional stories, expert insight, or policy-driven content.

The broadcast activity worked in tandem with RWAF’s “Breeding Amnesty” campaign, a public call for a legal overhaul. At the time of launch, more than 81,000 people had signed the petition in support, offering a tangible proof point that helped fuel media interest and anchor interviews in real public momentum.

We opened the weekend with a high-impact broadcast moment: Rae Walters and Ivy Dene Rabbit Rescue Centre featured on Good Morning Britain in a powerful segment that put the issue firmly in the national spotlight. The campaign continued to roll out across the weekend with strong pickup across ITV Evening News, LBC News, and Talk, along with regional and local coverage.

Results:

• Good Morning Britain
• ITV Evening News
• LBC News (26 mentions across bulletins) and LBC
• ITV regionals
• Talk
• 23 stations total
• 39,311,000