Pets at Home said it is backing Rabbit Awareness Week by continuing its ban on selling rabbit muesli, an initiative that has been in place since April 2013.

As a result of ground-breaking new industry research, Pets at Home immediately ceased the sale of rabbit muesli in all of its stores, calling on other retailers to follow its lead.

Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW) is an annual event, running to June 10 this year, where experts such as vets, pet retailers, welfare charities and manufacturers work together to educate people on how to give owned rabbits the best care possible.

This year’s theme is ‘Move Away from Muesli’, which is raising awareness around the dangers of selective feeding, encouraging owners to use a high-quality, hay based diet.

In a statement, Pets at Home said: “Rabbits fed on a muesli diet are more likely to suffer from dental and digestive problems, and these health issues can have a detrimental effect on rabbits – so we haven’t sold rabbit muesli at Pets at Home for five years now.

“It’s great that RAW is continuing to draw attention to this issue and we hope that ‘Move Away from Muesli’ helps make a real difference to the welfare of all rabbits, by ensuring they are fed the right diet to keep them healthy and happy.”