Local rabbit sanctuary sees surge of Easter bunnies brought in every year
Posted Apr 18, 2017 06:41:04 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Sometimes a chocolate bunny is a better Easter present than a live rabbit.
We all see the photos of kids smiling, eating Easter eggs, and snuggling a cute little bunny.
The reality, says Rabbit Rescue Incoroporated, is they see a portion of those bunnies brought in when the families realize they’re too much work to take care of.
“Without fail, every year, we get a lot of calls following Easter time when parents will find the Easter bunny they bought at a pet store, or a breeder, aren’t working out for them. We actually don’t do adoptions over Easter,” says Executive Director, Haviva Porter-Lush.
Porter-Lush explains that the majority of these rabbits were bought on impulse over Easter for children:
“Children lose interest. These are a long term pet, 10 to 14 years, a lot more responsibility [for] a child [to] look after. They need to be spayed and neutered, running you anywhere from $300 to $700, and they turn out to be a lot more work than people realize.”
Rabbit Rescue Inc. runs a foster program, which Porter-Lush says is a great way to experience earning a bunny, and seeing if it is the right thing for your household.
Otherwise, they end up seeing a large amount come in once the bunnies start to mature.
“The bulk of it is probably three or four months after Easter, when these bunnies start to mature and exhibit behaviour that are related to hormones when they need to be spayed or neutered. So not using the litter box, chewing, digging, maybe aggression, and that’s when the bulk of it comes in,” says Porter-Lush.
