To adopt a rabbit in Singapore, you go through a welfare group, not a pet shop, and the adoption fee itself is small: around $50 on average, $100 for a single rabbit at Bunny Wonderland, or $150 for a bonded pair (figures as of June 2026). The fee is the part that misleads people. The real money is everything after it. A proper indoor setup, sterilisation, the annual RHDV vaccine and food push the first year to roughly $1,700-$1,800, then about $850 a year after that. Rabbits are also one of the few pets you can keep in an HDB flat with no licence at all, which is part of why they get surrendered so often by owners who underestimated the commitment. This guide walks through which shelters adopt out rabbits, what each charges, the full screening process, the HDB rules, and a line-by-line budget so you know what you are signing up for before you fill in the form.
Singapore has a handful of dedicated rabbit welfare groups plus the general shelters that take in small animals. None of them sell rabbits the way a pet shop does. You apply, get screened, and the fee you pay is a contribution toward the rabbit's vet care, not a price tag. The Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS, the animal arm of NParks) actively points people toward these groups rather than commercial breeders.
The two rabbit-only groups are the oldest and the most rabbit-specific. House Rabbit Society Singapore has run since 2002 and is entirely volunteer-led. Bunny Wonderland started in 2013 and has rehomed more than 350 rabbits. Both will push you toward adopting a bonded pair, because rabbits are intensely social and a lone rabbit kept in a cage is a welfare problem, not a low-maintenance pet.
| Organisation | Type | Adoption fee | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bunny Wonderland | Rabbit-only, founded 2013 | $100 single, $150 bonded pair | Sterilised, vet-checked, care guidance |
| House Rabbit Society Singapore | Rabbit-only, founded 2002 | Varies, typically around $50 | Sterilised, fostered, care education |
| SPCA Singapore | General shelter | From $20-$100 (small animals) | Sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped |
| Adopt a Pet SG / The Stray Wabbit | Listing and rescue networks | Set by each rescuer | Varies by foster |
The reason shelter fees look cheap next to a pet shop is that the sterilisation has usually already been done and paid for out of the group's funds. At SPCA, every animal rehomed is sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed and microchipped before it leaves. Bunny Wonderland calls its $100 charge a 'Pay It Forward' fee, the idea being your contribution helps fund the next rabbit's medical bill rather than the group profiting.
That matters when you compare it to buying. Sterilisation alone runs roughly $382 to $479 depending on the rabbit's sex (as of June 2026), so a $100 adoption fee for an already-sterilised rabbit is, on the maths, the cheapest way to start. The catch is that the fee is the smallest line in your budget, which the next section makes obvious.
Here is where most people get caught out. The shelter fee is a rounding error against the setup and running costs. Pet Lovers Centre's 2026 breakdown puts the first year at roughly $1,723 to $1,838, and that lines up with what rabbit owners actually report. Treat the table below as a planning baseline, not a quote: hay and vet prices move, so verify before you commit.
If those numbers give you pause, that is the point of doing them before you adopt, not after. Run your own version through the personal budget calculator so you can see the monthly hit against your actual income, and if you are saving up for the setup first, the savings goal calculator will tell you how long that takes.
| Item | One-time / setup | Recurring |
|---|---|---|
| Adoption fee | $50-$150 | - |
| Indoor enclosure and accessories | ~$257 | - |
| Grooming and hygiene supplies | ~$59 | - |
| Sterilisation (if not already done) | $382-$479 | - |
| Food, hay and treats | - | ~$57/month |
| Annual RHDV vaccine | - | $113-$131/year |
| First-year total | ~$1,723-$1,838 | - |
| Typical year after that | - | ~$850/year |
Rabbits are 'exotics' to most Singapore vets, which means fewer clinics treat them and consults cost more. They also hide illness until it is serious, so a sick rabbit is often an emergency rather than a wait-and-see. A single GI stasis episode or a dental problem can run into the hundreds. Budget an emergency buffer of at least a few hundred dollars on top of the figures above, the same way you would self-insure any pet.
Yes, and this is one of the rabbit's genuine advantages. AVS lists rabbits among the small mammals that can be kept as pets in Singapore, alongside hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, mice and chinchillas. Unlike dogs and cats, rabbits do not require a licence. That removes the licensing step and cost entirely.
The contrast is sharp. HDB only allows one approved-breed dog per flat, and since 1 September 2024 cats are finally permitted in HDB flats but must be licensed and microchipped, with up to two cats per flat and unlicensed cats becoming an offence from 1 September 2026. Rabbits sidestep all of that. There is no fixed legal cap published for rabbits, but space is the real limit: Bunny Wonderland requires a minimum indoor area of 1m x 1m for one rabbit and 2m x 1m for a pair, plus at least three hours of supervised free-roaming a day. If you are weighing the wider commitment of keeping any animal in an HDB flat, it sits in the same bucket as other recurring household costs you would track once you hit your MOP and settle in.
Adopting a rabbit is closer to a tenancy screening than a purchase. The groups want to avoid the surrender-after-six-months pattern that fills their fosters, so expect questions, a home check and a trial. The exact order varies by group, but the shape is consistent.
Bunny Wonderland, for example, has you browse rabbits, read the care guide, submit an inquiry form, do a phone interview, meet the rabbits at a foster home or adoption drive, then complete the adoption form before a delivery date is set. Pet Lovers Centre describes a fuller version of the same flow used across groups.
On pure cost, adoption wins and it is not close. A shelter rabbit is already sterilised, vet-checked and microchipped, and you pay $50-$150 for it. Buying an unsterilised rabbit from a shop means paying the purchase price and then $382-$479 for sterilisation yourself, before any of the setup costs that are identical either way.
Adoption also gives you a temperament you can see. Foster carers have lived with the rabbit and can tell you whether it is litter-trained, handles being picked up, or needs a quiet home. The trade-off is the screening: it is slower and more invasive than walking out of a shop, by design. For a long-lived, social, surprisingly expensive animal that can reach 10 to 12 years, that friction is doing its job. If you want pets without the commitment, a rabbit is the wrong call. If you want the commitment, adopting is the cheaper and better-matched way in.
Pet insurance in Singapore is built around dogs and cats, and most plans do not cover rabbits at all. That leaves self-insurance: a dedicated vet fund you build before you adopt and top up monthly. Given that exotic vet visits are pricier and rabbits hide illness, a buffer of several hundred dollars is the floor, not the target.
If you do later add a cat or dog to the household, the calculus changes and a plan can make sense. Our breakdown of the best pet insurance for dogs and cats covers what the plans actually pay and the fine print that limits claims, and the Liberty pet insurance review digs into one of the higher-limit options. For a rabbit, though, the realistic plan is your own emergency fund.
The adoption fee runs from about $50 on average up to $100 for a single rabbit or $150 for a bonded pair at Bunny Wonderland (as of June 2026). The bigger cost is the first year overall, roughly $1,700 to $1,800 once you add the enclosure, sterilisation if needed, the RHDV vaccine and food.
No. AVS lists rabbits among the small mammals that can be kept as pets without a licence, and they are allowed in HDB flats. This is different from dogs and cats, which both require a licence. The practical limit on rabbits is indoor space, not a permit, with welfare groups asking for at least 1m by 1m per rabbit.
The main rabbit welfare groups are House Rabbit Society Singapore and Bunny Wonderland, both rabbit-only and volunteer-run. SPCA Singapore also rehomes small animals including rabbits, all sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed and microchipped. Listing networks like Adopt a Pet SG and The Stray Wabbit connect adopters with individual rescuers and fosters.
Welfare groups strongly recommend a bonded pair because rabbits are highly social and a lone caged rabbit suffers. A pair costs slightly more upfront, $150 versus $100 at Bunny Wonderland, and needs more space, around 2m by 1m indoors, but the rabbits keep each other company, which reduces stress-related health and behaviour problems.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.