SYRACUSE N.Y. (NCC News) – When it comes to Easter, it’s easy to associate it with eggs and bunnies. But a local animal shelter is warning parents against adopting bunnies for Easter.
Rabbits are the third most popular and the third most abandoned pets in the US. Because many people think they’re short-lived, low maintenance, cage-bound animals, rabbits are seen as “starter pets” for kids. The misconception leads to overwhelming bunny sales ahead of Easter and a subsequent rise in abandonments.
“You wouldn’t buy your kid a reindeer for Christmas. Don’t buy them a bunny for Easter,” Annie-Laurie Hunter, the director of Hunter Hollow Bunny Bed and Breakfast, said.
Hunter Hollow Bunny Bed and Breakfast is a shelter for rabbits, which has actually shut down its adoptions for the two weeks leading up to Easter. According to Hunter, almost half the bunnies that come here this time of year are because people got a bunny on a whim.
“Now it’s the time that people are making spontaneous purchases,” Hunter said. “They’re saying hey let’s go getting a bunny for Easter. In two months from now the kid doesn’t want the bunny any more. And then they end up here.”
The shelter believes pet stores that sell rabbits at this moment are doing more harm than good mainly because they will see an influx of animals in a few months that people suddenly realize are more work than their expectations.
“They’re tired of it. They don’t feel like taking care of it any more. Their kid is bored with it. We have lots of those,” Hunter said.
However, the shelter has special policies for those who understand how to take care of bunnies and really want to adopt one.
“So they have to call us for an interview, and actually speak to me over the phone, and then set up a time to meet the bunny, if they are eligible for adoption,” Hunter said. “And then find a day they like; then they fill out the application, and when they already set up, they pay the fee and take the bunny home.”
The shelter also told the public that there will be a big adoption day a week after Easter.
“We have 30 bunnies that are ready to go,” Hunter said.
She also suggested parents should make sure that the bunny is spayed or neutered before adopting because no one wants to be stuck with a whole litter of babies down the road.
