Save the Easter bunny; buy chocolates

It’s Easter time again. Pet stores and rabbit breeders are enticing your young children with this spring’s rabbit sales. Your kids are begging you to buy a baby bunny. It’s so hard to resist. After all, you think, wouldn’t this be the perfect, low-maintenance “starter pet” for a young child?

Think again. Every year, many thousands of rabbits are abandoned to shelters or released outdoors (a death sentence for a domestic rabbit) often because of misunderstandings on the part of parents who bought them for their kids.

Contrary to Easter-time hype, rabbits and small children are not a good match. The natural rambunctiousness of even the gentlest toddler is too stressful for the sensitive rabbit. Rabbits are prey animals by nature. They are physically delicate and fragile; they are not passive and cuddly.

Children like a companion they can hold, carry and cuddle. That’s why stuffed animals are so popular. Children are naturally energetic, exuberant and loving. But “loving” to a small child usually means holding, cuddling and carrying an animal around in whatever grip their small hands can manage — precisely the kinds of things that make most rabbits feel insecure and frightened. Rabbits handled in this way will often start to scratch or bite simply out of fear.

Rabbits are ground-loving creatures that feel frightened and insecure when held and restrained. And many rabbits are accidentally dropped by small children, which can result in broken legs and backs. Those rabbits who survive the first few months quickly reach maturity. When they are no longer tiny and “cute,” kids often lose interest. Every summer, animal shelters receive a large influx of unwanted former Easter bunnies.

Parents, please help. Don’t buy on impulse. If you’re thinking about adding a rabbit to your family think about this:

• A pet rabbit can have a lifespan of seven to 10 years.

• Your home must be bunny-proofed. Thumper will chew electrical cords and furniture.

• Rabbits must be spayed or neutered or they will mark your house with feces and urine.

• Unspayed females are territorial and may attack little hands that enter their cage.

• Rabbits require specialized veterinary care. Some veterinarians do not treat rabbits at all.

• The best housing for your pet rabbit should be in your home. To consign these sensitive, intelligent, social animals to life in a hutch is to miss the joy of sharing your life with a rabbit.

Make an informed decision by learning about rabbit care first. Consider adopting a rabbit from your local shelter or rescue group. For the rabbit’s health and well-being (as well as for your child’s) make sure an adult will be the primary caretaker and will always supervise any children in the household who are interacting with the rabbit.

So, if your children are pleading for a bunny this Easter, do a rabbit a favor and buy a toy rabbit they can snuggle to their heart’s content. Remember, chocolate rabbits are a great alternative; kids can enjoy them for 10 minutes, and they won’t have to take care of them for the next 10 years.

Information provided by The House Rabbit Society to help educate the public against impulse purchases of rabbits for Easter. For more information contact the House Rabbit Society at rabbit.org.

Jeanette Rogers is with Meadow Gates Farm Sanctuary, a non-profit established to assist in the rescue and re-homing of pet rabbits. It focuses on assisting families, animal control shelters and other rescue organizations with pet rabbit rescue and welfare issues. Visit meadowgates.com or call 357-6437.