Rabbits treated to luxury spa treatments and parties at resort just for bunnies
A luxury spa exclusively for rabbits has opened in Hong Kong.
The city has a huge population of the animals as most residents live in small apartments unsuited to larger or more energetic pets.
Bunny Style resort offers care and stimulation to pet bunnies while their owners are away.
The resort’s owner, Donna Li, began the company in a simple room that offered space for rabbits to play in, away from the stifling Hong Kong heat.
But as the city eased its Covid restrictions, Li spotted a market opportunity for offering a more comprehensive service.
Supervised exercise is still a key part of the bunnies’ stay, but their time at Bunny Style can also involve nail-trimming, hair-brushing and luxury rabbit dining, with special vegetable cake particularly popular.
Owners are provided with a live stream of their pet’s activities, as well as special video clips. Staying at Bunny Style costs $15 per night – though some activities charge extra.
The resort was full during the Christmas period and currently busy around celebrations for Chinese New Year, which is aptly enough welcoming in the Year of the Rabbit. Li is already taking bookings for Easter.
‘I think rabbits understand what people say. They can sense whether we are being nice to them and look after them well,’ Li explains.
‘And so when I look after them, I talk to them a lot, telling them how beautiful and cute they are.’
Hong Kong’s huge rabbit problem also brings challenges for the city, as large numbers of the pets end up abandoned after their initial appeal to new pet owners wears off.
Modern rabbit shelters such as Tolobunny, set up in 2015, aim to find these abandoned animals new homes. But the start of a new year is generally a major challenge, as recent owners give up pets received during holidays.
Tolobunny founder Winky Cheng feels that the standard and breadth of care provided for other pets – especially dogs and cats – tends to be better than for rabbits.
In the future, Cheng hopes ‘there will be more attention and resources for all kinds of abandoned animals’.
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