Want to Buy Your Kid a Bunny for Easter: Read This First!

After having been a member of the family for 8 years, one of my kids' rabbits recently passed away. With the untimely demise of our pet I began thinking of all the Easter Bunnies who are going to die in the next few weeks because some parent thought it would be cute to get their kid a bunny for Easter.

For those parents who want to get their kid an Easter Bunny this year I offer one word of advice: Don't.

While at a party this weekend I met my rabbit's worst nightmare. The ditzy red-headed woman, whom I have dubbed Psycho-Mama, was going on about how she wanted to get her 5 year old daughter a Bunny for Easter, because it would just be "too cute." The five year old in question was unruly, unable to sit still, threw things, and screamed loudly. The mother thought her daughter would love the bunny and that it would look great in the pictures of her daughter in the new outfit Psycho-Mama was buying her for Easter.

When asked what possessed her to buy a rabbit, Psycho-Mama said that her husband didn't like pets, so she figured a rabbit was OK, because it wasn't really a pet; it didn't shed, didn't stink up the house the way a cat box did, you didn't need to buy food for it because you could just give it the vegetables that were going bad in the fridge, plus she figured it would last longer than the gold fish they bought earlier in the year and had died after a few weeks.

The Psycho-Mama was shocked to learn that rabbits do shed, do need a litter box or an acceptable outdoor cage, that if it was left unattended in the house it would chew through the cord for the TV, vacuum, or anything else it could get its teeth on, that she would need to purchase rabbit food and that if she took care of it correctly it could live for years. (She was apparently under the assumption that bunnies expired after 3 to 6 months.)

The average life span of a well-cared for rabbit can be anywhere from 7 to 10 years, unfortunately most Easter Bunnies only last a few months.

The primary reason Easter Bunnies don't live long is most people don't bother to learn about the nutritional and housing needs of the animal prior to purchasing them. Nor do they realize that rabbits are possibly the only animal that can be scared to death. If you have rambunctious kids, other pets, or a noisy household you've just sentenced that precious Easter Bunny to death via fear induced heart attack.

Other Bunnies die when the parents realize that what they thought would be a low maintenance pet turns out to needs as much care as a dog (Yes, Psycho-Mama it needs fed every day), and ends up costing just as much as a dog and that vet visits would be expensive because very few veterinarians specialize in rabbits. The lucky bunnies end up at an animal shelter, others are just "set free" and end up being hunted down by dogs, cats, coyotes, or hawks. Turning the Easter Bunny loose doesn't make it "free"; it just makes it food for something else.

The San Diego House Rabbit Society created a wonderful cost comparison of purchasing a live rabbit this Easter or purchasing a plush bunny toy. The link, below is defiantly worth checking out for anyone who is interested in getting their kid a bunny this Easter.

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/adoption/Easter/Easter_Bunny_Cost_Comparison.pdf

A happy, healthy, and well cared for rabbit makes a great pet as long as you are willing to make a 10 year commitment. Otherwise, stick to chocolate bunnies this Easter.