Make Way for the Easter Bunny
By Bernadette Worden
After Santa Claus, one of America’s biggest cultural icons is the Easter Bunny. Every year young kids wait excitedly to find eggs that the Bunny left behind. They get their picture taken with men in Bunny suits, or even with obviously tranquilized rabbits. Millions of dollars go into cheap merchandise with pink and purple rabbit faces on it. But rarely do people stop to think about real live rabbits, specifically house rabbits.
It may only be March, but Easter is fast approaching. Roman Catholic and Orthodox Easter both fall on the eleventh of April, with Easter Monday on the twelfth. A terrible time is approaching for domesticated rabbits everywhere. Here is their story.
During the Easter season, it is a common thought to buy a rabbit as a gift for children. It may be their parents who want to get it for them, or their relatives, or even other adults. But these responsible people rarely think of the responsibility that comes with having a rabbit. The first misconception is that rabbits are good pets for kids. While the image of the caged rabbit in a kindergarten classroom may come to mind, rabbits spook easily and rarely tolerate the constant social attention and roughness that many children take towards animals. If you want to get your kids a pet to teach them responsibility, get a guinea pig. Really.
This sequence of events is typical for all Easter rabbits. They come home, usually from a pet store that bred rabbits in crowded conditions to accommodate for the Easter rush. The first few days they are given unlimited attention by everyone. They are cute and adorable, and every other cheesy thing that small animals always are. After a week the kids are tired of feeding it, petting it, cleaning up after it. The rabbit is no longer a welcome novelty, but an extra burden that is too easily shaken onto the parents. For a while the parents take good care of it, probably with resentment. Then it hits the beginning of its rabbit teens (if they have kept it that long anyhow). The rabbit teens are a nasty period that we will discuss in the future, but it means twice the work for a few years as the rabbit hits the peak of its energy cycle. If they did not like it already, they certainly won’t like it now.
There are two fates left for the countless rabbits in this situation. The “lucky” ones get dropped off at a shelter and euthanized with most of the other rabbits that people are tired of. The unlucky ones get left at the side of the road to fend for themselves with dozens of wild rabbits who are accustomed to the environment.
The best way to prevent this from happening to hundreds of rabbits this year is to spread the word to everyone you know. The following tips were offered in the Spring 2003 issue of San Diego Rabbit News . Promote house rabbits in the signature line of your e-mail and message board names. Post local adoption flyers and Easter warnings on community bulletin boards. Whenever possible, purchase rabbit supplies from dealers who do not breed rabbits. Strike up rabbit related conversations wherever and whenever you can.
When you do decide to get a rabbit (at the right time, for the right reasons), make sure it is the right rabbit for you:
- Consider the age of the rabbit. Do you want to go through the terrible teens? Do you want to deal with the frequent issues elderly rabbits have?
- Consider your living situation. Do you have things (like furniture) you wouldn’t want rabbits getting to? Are you allowed to have pets? Do you have room for a rabbit?
- Consider your time commitment. Will you be home often enough to provide sufficiently for a pet?
- Consider your family. Do you have kids? Are they old enough to understand the proper respect for animals? Do you have other pets? Can they get along with rabbits? Do they pose a threat to the rabbit (or vice versa)? Is anyone in the house allergic to rabbits? If you don’t know, consider spending time volunteering with rabbits in a local shelter to find out.
- Consider your financial situation. Can you afford the care a rabbit needs?
Finally, do not just consider adopting a shelter rabbit. Do it!
About the Author:
I play the violin (hence the name), and I love every sound it makes, no matter how horrible. I am a huge John Williams fan (the composer, not the guitarist), and it is one of my biggest dreams to meet him.
I am an all around animal lover, although cats seem to like me. I have a freakish cat who thinks I'm god and she is my second in command, and a rabbit who likes to eat and sleep and grit her teeth. I don't remember the last time a room in my house hasn't been scattered with Carefresh and hay...
Article courtesy of Suite101.com.
