Everybody loves furry bunnies.
And everybody loves the joy and doggedness of kids hunting for their basket of holiday booty on Easter morning. It’s so fun to see their elation when finding their treasure and exploring the contents. If you are thinking about including a live bunny as part of that Easter gifting, we’d like you to think about some things before acting. And then think again. And hard.
Bunnies are wonderful pets. But they are not easy pets. And when they are bought as impulse purchases (as most Easter bunnies are), the reality is that most of them don’t make it to their first birthday. If you are considering adopting a bunny as a pet, please consider these things first:
- Bunnies are long-lived, typically 8-10 years and longer for smaller breeds.
- Bunnies are a lot of work. If you ask Unity’s Dr. Abby Schutzman, a pet bunny is typically more work than a dog. Little size does not mean a little effort.
- An outdoor hutch is not a safe place for a bunny.
- Bunnies can live happily in your home, but you will need to housetrain your pet bunny as well as bunny-proof your house. Rabbits are prolific chewers and can cause a lot of damage if left to roam your house without proper safety precautions.
- Rabbits are not necessarily a good choice for a home with small children. They are often frightened by noise and activity, and they need to be handled with much more care than a cat or a dog.
Still interested? Please check out these resources to learn more and decide if a rabbit is the right pet for your family.
Not for you? Thanks for thinking it through! There’s always room for a CHOCOLATE bunny in your basket!
STILL interested? Ok, well we congratulate you on thinking this through. Now, please consider adopting a rescued rabbit like the ones at Animal Coalition of Delaware County. Most of the rabbits available for adoption were returned because people didn’t carefully consider what rabbits need before bringing one into their family. And many of them are former “Easter bunnies.” It’s unlikely you can adopt a rescued rabbit by Easter (because rescues know how important it is to match pets with homes that will work forever), but a bag of bunny food in your Easter basket will be a fun puzzle and will allow your whole family to participate in selecting just the right rabbit for your family.