A Descriptive Survey of Visitor Experience and Adoption Interest Among Patrons of a Rabbit Café

Silvija Grava; Lexis H. Ly; Alexandra Protopopova

doi:10.56771/jsmcah.v5.167

Authors

Silvija Grava Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Lexis H. Ly Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5384-4205
Alexandra Protopopova Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9992-3101

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56771/jsmcah.v5.167

Keywords:

adoption, animal café, tourism, human–animal interaction, animal welfare

Abstract

Introduction: Rabbits often experience long wait times in shelters, which may negatively impact their welfare. Pet cafés, where public members can interact with animals in a café setting, often partner with animal shelters to offer an alternative way to showcase animals to potential adopters. The use of pet cafés to promote the adoption of rabbits has yet to be studied. This study aimed to describe the motivations, experiences, and takeaways of the visitors at a rabbit café in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The secondary aim was to explore the impact of rabbit morphology, behavior, and sociability as reported by staff and volunteers on perceived adoptability and visitor preference.

Methods: This study collected 205 responses (quantitative and qualitative) in a post-visit survey for patrons of the rabbit café and 23 survey responses of staff and volunteers rating the sociability of the rabbits. Data were described through cross-tabulation and analyzed through inductive thematic analysis.

Results: The results indicate that most visitors did not intend to adopt rabbits, but mainly visited the café to spend time with animals, noting physical interaction as a meaningful experience. Highly social rabbits, as rated by staff and volunteers, were generally more preferred by visitors than shy rabbits.

Conclusion: Overall, our study suggests that the rabbit café was useful for visitors to interact with rabbits, but did not result in adoptions during the study period. Future studies could address methods to improve adoption rates and length of stay (LOS) based on visitor experiences.

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