Animal Rescues Discouraging Giving Bunnies As Easter Presents
The Daily Breeze says animal rescues are warning people not to buy bunnies as Easter presents. According to the Humane Society of the United States, rabbits are the third-most surrendered pet in the country, after dogs and cats. The World Animal Foundation estimates that 80 percent of the bunnies that end up in shelters were given as Easter gifts, a trend experts say they also see for chicks, ducklings and other Easter animals. There are a lot of people who don’t realize that bunny rabbits and baby chickens that they gift for Easter are truly a commitment. Also one needs to consider cost of caring for your rabbit. It costs about $800 the first year of taking care of a bunny rabbit.
Here’s something to keep in mind if you are thinking of releasing these domestic animals into the wild if you get bored of taking care of it, buyers who release their gift rabbits into the wild are all but setting these cute little bunnies up for death. Releasing them into the wild leads to suffering and premature death because they do not have wild instincts and can easily get eaten by other animals.
The Bunny World Foundation says, “Easter bunnies who magically appear and lay multi-colored eggs shown on greetings cards and cartoons are nothing but a fantasy. Every year, we scream from the top of our lungs that bunnies don’t make good Easter gifts, and still, those reminders go unheeded. Typically bought on a whim as a toy for a child, they often live a desolate life in the corner of a filthy cage without enrichment until they are abandoned to a shelter or die of neglect.”
PETA says, “Every year, we receive numerous reports of bunnies who were bought for Easter and then discarded once their cuteness or novelty wore off, which is why we adamantly advocate against buying live animals as Easter gifts.”
