Mission – Our mission is to save, rehabilitate, and find homes for the discarded domestic rabbits of East Tennessee while educating the public on proper rabbit care and housing.
Directors – Kellie (Founder, President), Breanna (Treasurer, Vice President), and Caroline (Secretary)
Future Goals – We are working on hosting adoption events in more locations to reach more people! We are also hoping to have a public location for our thrift store by the end of 2026.
We also plan to purchase a rescue van or truck to assist in transport between fosters as well as provide easier transportation to adoption events and multiple bunny appointments. We hope to be able to purchase this vehicle within the next 2 years!
Foster Based – OBBR is a foster based rescue which means all of our bunnies are being cared for in one of several foster homes around the Knoxville area. Because we are foster based, we do not have a single location for the public to visit. We rely on adoption events to help reach the public as well as scheduling individual meetings with potential adopters at a centralized public place, such as a local park.
Operation Bun Bun Rescue was unofficially started by our President, Kellie, in 2019 when she bought a bunny off of Facebook Marketplace for $25. She was given a “double hutch” meant for 2 bunnies, but she knew it was too small even for the dwarf bunny she was given with the hutch. Her goal was to start educating the public on proper rabbit care. She received a lot of criticism from people who claimed that small, cramped, wire floor cages were suitable which only fueled her desire for education.
The rescue was officially started in 2021 after a free Craigslist bunny had given birth to 6 babies. While trying to find homes for these babies, the people interested were wanting outdoor and/or breeder bunnies. We still had a lot of work to do, so an official name and plan was created.
Together with Breanna and Caroline, the rescue slowly grew from an occasional owner surrender to the constant rescue from euthanasia or life-threatening injuries that we see today.
In the summer of 2022, we helped a sister rescue with a breeder case. They bred holland lops, Flemish giants, and angoras, but wanted them all gone immediately. We took in 30 of their bunnies and several died within a few days due to a fungal disease. A month later, we took in our first hoarding case. 30 bunnies were transported to us from Georgia. All were starved, covered in urine, and terrified. It took over 6 months for these bunnies to feel safe. We knew there would always be more cases like this and continued to grow.
We received our 501(c)(3) in August 2022 and officially ran as a nonprofit!
We have moved from solely intaking owner surrenders in 2021, to emergencies only. 95% of our intakes come from hoarding cases, dumped bunnies, or neglect cases. When shelters get full, we are called to help.
We are constantly looking for ways to educate the public and prevent the mass neglect we are shown on a daily basis. We know we can’t save everyone, but we know that we change the world for the bunnies we can save.
See our volunteer and donation pages for ways that you can help us progress in our mission!
Email obbr.km@gmail.com to become a foster, adopter, or donor!!
Operation Bun Bun Rescue 