# Rabbit Hypnosis



## lindseywatson (Mar 22, 2010)

There has been extensive national media coverage today about Rabbit "Whispering" (or hypnosis). Much of the coverage has been light hearted, citing health and behavioural benefits.

However, *the RSPCA, PDSA, Rabbit Welfare Assosiation and Burgess Petcare have issued a strong warning AGAINST this practice*.

Taken from the Rabbit Awareness Week website...

_When a rabbit is caught by a predator in the wild - say for example by a fox - the harder it fights to get away, the harder the fox will clamp down with it's teeth to hold it.

Rabbits like possums (ever heard of the term 'playing possum'?) have developed the ability to 'play dead' in this situation. The idea is that if the rabbit goes completely limp the fox will believe that it is already dead and loosen his grip on it, perhaps even placing the rabbit on the floor thinking it now has time to eat the rabbit.

In the split second that the rabbit feels the pressure released by its captor, it will kick out at the fox with it's powerful hind legs and make a run for it.

The 'hypnotism' that Mr Penrose is undertaking is actually inducing this 'playing dead' state. The correct term is Tonic Immobility. The rabbit is not actually asleep or relaxed at all but highly awake, alert and fearful as it would be if it was being attacked by a predator.

Animal Behaviourist Anne McBride BSc, PhD,Cert.Coms,FRSA has carried out extensive studies of rabbit responses to the tonic immobility state.

States Anne "A rabbits natural anti-predator behaviour is to become very quiet and to stay very still when pressure is applied to it's body. During this state the rabbit is in fact very wide awake and alert and results show that they have significantly increased respiration and heart rate levels. In addition the hormone plasma corticosterone which is the recognised measure of acute stress is also shown to be extremely high"_


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