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We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts.

Animal Defenders of Westchester
P.O. Box 205
Yonkers, NY 10704

Letters

Rabbits shouldn't be sold as pets

Published in THE JOURNAL NEWS, 4/9:

(Original publication: April 9, 2005)

During a pre-Easter visit to a Westchester pet shop, there were 10 adult rabbits in small enclosures, and a tank containing a nursing rabbit mother with several babies. In back of the store near the bathroom, in the dark, was another tank containing a nursing rabbit with her babies.

I asked the proprietor why they were there; he said the little mother is frightened around people, and desperately tries to hide her babies if people approach.

I then asked if he usually sells out all the rabbits, to which he replied, "Most of them." When I asked what happens to those who don't get sold, I was shocked by his answer: "We feed them to the snakes."

We are looking into cruelty violations against this store. Though Easter has passed, keep this knowledge for future holidays or whenever you may be tempted to buy living beings from stores:

Please think about the suffering you are contributing to by purchasing these animals. A pet shop is a business; businesses function by minimizing overhead costs to maximize profit. Hamsters, rabbits, puppies, etc., are overbred in deplorable conditions.

Contrary to Eastertime hype, rabbits and small children aren't a good match. The exuberance of even the gentlest toddler is stressful for the sensitive rabbit.

Rabbits are not passive and cuddly. They are ground-loving creatures who feel frightened and insecure when held and restrained. The child loses interest, and the rabbit ends up neglected or abandoned. For further educational material visit www.animal-link.org .

Kiley Blackman, Yonkers

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