Here’s why you should never buy a rabbit for Easter

Kate Werner

Chocolate everywhere, hot cross buns en masse, daffodils blanketing the meadows – it must be Easter. As families make plans for the long weekend and egg hunts in the garden, some might be planning a far more misguided way to mark the holiday: the purchase of a rabbit. Please don’t.

Rabbits are clever, funny, adorable animals. They’re also complex individuals who require specialist (sometimes costly) care for 8 to 15 years. They’re far from “starter pets”, a reductive phrase that implies that while some animals are lifelong companions, others are “practice animals” on whom to make our mistakes and hone our skills.

The misguided notion that rabbits make great Easter gifts leads to thousands being abandoned or abused.

For many reasons, rabbits are a bad fit for kids. Delicate prey animals with fragile bones and organs close to the surface of their exceptionally thin skin, most rabbits don’t enjoy being picked up, and, if they struggle (and scratch) while you’re holding them (as they almost always do), they can be seriously injured.

While each rabbit has a distinct personality, in general, they don’t enjoy interactive play or follow commands, and they require a lot of clean-up. It’s heartbreakingly common for kids to lose interest in them before the last chocolate egg is scoffed, and four out of five rabbits bought as Easter gifts die or are abandoned within the first year of purchase, when the novelty wanes.

Some 100,000 homeless rabbits enter UK shelters each year, and the Blue Cross alone records up to 95 calls to surrender rabbits each month.

Not everyone bothers to find a safe place for unwanted buns, and rescues constantly report finding boxes, cages, and even suitcases full of rabbits dumped in parks and forests.

This rabbit tsunami not only underscores the importance of planning, but also highlights why you should never buy a rabbit from a “pet” store or breeder.

In Wales, breeding is largely unregulated, and rabbits are often sold with health issues, which leads to them being dumped. There’s also no law requiring rabbits to be sold desexed, meaning many unwitting purchasers end up with even more rabbits. With a litter averaging six babies, the problem is exponential.

Then there’s the myth that a lone rabbit will be your companion, as a loyal dog or snuggly cat may. While rabbits do, to a degree, bond with human guardians, they need another of their kind to be happy.

Studies show that rabbits value the company of other rabbits as much as they value food, and a solo rabbit will be lonely, anxious, and miserable. It’s not as simple as doubling your order, however. Rabbits are picky about their friends, and patience and effort are required to bond a pair. (Another tick for rescues – they do the bonding for you).

Proving just how little they understand rabbits – an infectious ignorance staff all too often pass onto shoppers – pet stores often sell rabbits with small, boring, and completely inappropriate hutches or cages. Two medium-sized rabbits require a space of at least three by two metres in which to move and behave naturally, and it should be brimming with enrichment: toys to chew, dig, and throw, and places to hide and lie down.

They also need a never-ending stream of high-quality hay and fresh water. While they can be litter-trained, it’s important to know that each rabbit can produce up to 300 faecal pellets a day, making housing hygiene a full-time job.

Easter passes in the blink of an eye. A rabbit will rely on you for a decade. If you’re ready to dedicate the patience, space, enrichment, and vet care a rabbit needs for their whole life, visit your local rescue to give a forever home to a bonded pair. If not, buy a chocolate or toy rabbit instead.

Kate Werner is Senior Campaigns Manager at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA.