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Animal
House Folly
Farm Blog
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First finding fame as a punk rock singer in the 1970s Toyah Willcox has since developed a varied acting career starring in films such as Quadrophenia and Jubilee as well as appearing in stage productions of Peter Pan and Cabaret. However away from the limelight Toyah has also become a champion and spokesperson for the humble house rabbit. Her first pet at age nine was a gift from her parents. While on a boating holiday on the Avon River she was taken to a pet shop in Tewkesbury where she fell in love with a New Zealand White bunny she named Snowy. This rabbit soon became Toyah’s cherished pet and constant companion. Although he had access to a covered yard outside Snowy spent most of his time in Toyah’s bedroom. Tame enough to come running when she called his name he was quite ferocious towards other members of the family, once even biting her brother in the stomach.. New Zealand Whites are Toyah’s favourite rabbit breed and she admires their bombastic character and intelligence. The size of a small dog she has found however that the breed is not very robust suffering from weak hearts and eyes. Avoiding keeping females due to their hormonal mood swings she prefers males for their comical behaviour. Chewing is the only downside of keeping house rabbits and Beaton, Toyah’s last pet, took to chewing the plasterwork. However he was also the most intelligent of her bunnies and she directly attributes the degree of intelligence in a rabbit to the amount of nurturing and attention you give them. Eating, sleeping and walking with Toyah and her husband Robert Fripp Beaton would even jump up on the table to eat a salad. The couple were even forced to wear earplugs as the rabbit would sleep under their bed and snore. Being an unneutered male Beaton had a tendency to spray. He also developed a romantic fetish for pieces of material which made it easier for Toyah to catch him as she only needed to wave a towel in the air for him to come running from wherever he was hiding. Although it is now a few years since she owned a pet rabbit Toyah is still actively involved in the Rabbit Welfare Association. With over 300 rabbit sanctuaries in the United Kingdom it still seems as if the poor humble rabbit is one of the most mistreated and misunderstood pets within that nation of animal lovers. Toyah still tries to raise awareness towards their plight and passionately states that "Rabbits are exceptional, they are not dumb, fluffy creatures. Rabbits respond to company, kindness and love, just like you and me." ©Jen Longshaw 2001-2007 Please do not copy in any manner, print or electronic, without permission from the author. Subscribe to a FREE Newsletter. CELEBRITY PETS |
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