Be Careful with Bunny Adoption
Along with brightly colored Easter eggs, rabbits have become associated with Easter. But while giving a bunny as a present to a child on Easter morning may seem like a fun and innocent gift, it often doesn’t turn out that way.
“Rabbit sales at pet shops generally quadruple right before the Easter holiday.” says Lisa Roy of the Animal Rescue League of Southern Rhode Island. “However rabbit intake at shelters will peak in May and June when the bunnies reach maturity and are no longer wanted as pets.” (Valley Breeze) Many of these rabbits end up in shelters, while some are even released into the wild, where they quickly become prey for other animals.
So be sure to think twice before giving your child a bunny on Easter morning: Are you willing to take care of it on the long haul? If not, it would be much better to give a chocolate bunny or stuffed toy instead.
Why are rabbits associated with Easter at all? According to Pattaya Daily News, “The rabbit is not the first animal that was introduced to Easter it was in fact the hare. The hare symbolizes abundance, proliferation and renewal and was regarded as very prolific, and was a symbol of life and fertility.” So the rabbit’s connection to Easter is symbolic of Jesus’ return to life, only tangentially related to the meaning of the holiday itself.
The holiday itself has been subject to various interpretations over the years. But if you’re interested in what Easter is really all about, the best way is to go back to the original texts. Click here for the authentic Easter story.
We recently got a bunny as a pet (not Easter related) and I can definitely say there are pro’s and con’s to the whole process. On the bright side, they are a fairly easy pet to care for, simply requiring food, water and a cage. They are (relatively) litter trainable and once they know where to “do their business” they can be let out to wander the house or play with the kids for a few hours or more a day. The bunny we got is a Lion Mane something or other, and she’s very cute and fairly friendly.
On the other hand, you really do have to keep up with cleaning their cages almost daily. Ours will easily fill the litter box in a day or two, meaning that if we get too busy for a few days things start to overflow. You also have to be VERY careful to bunny-proof the areas where the animal will live and roam. They have a taste for electrical insulation meaning you will need to keep all cords WELL out of reach.
The other thing to keep in mind with a bunny is lifespan. They can easily live 7 or more years so you will want to be prepared to care for the pet long term.