Pet Rabbits: Not a Child's Toy
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

Originally posted March 2008

A pet bunny or rabbit is A REAL LIVE 10 + YEAR COMMITMENT

Whether is is Easter season or anytime of the year, pet store windows are filled with adorable bunnies. Your kids are begging you to buy one. It's so hard to resist.

After all, you think, wouldn't this be the perfect, low maintenance 'starter pet' for a young child?

THINK AGAIN!!! Every year, many thousands of rabbits are abandoned to shelters or released outdoors (a sure death sentence for a domestic rabbit) often because of misunderstandings on the part of the parents who bought them for their kids.

Rabbits are prey animals by nature. They are physically delicate and fragile, and require specialized veterinary care. Children are naturally energetic, exuberant, and loving. But "loving" to a small child usually means holding, cuddling, carrying an animal around in whatever grip their small hand can manage, precisely the kinds of things that make most rabbits feel insecure and frightened. Rabbits handled in this way will often start to scratch or bite simply out of fear. Many rabbits are accidentally dropped by small children, resulting in broken legs and back. Those rabbits who survive the first few months quickly reach maturity. when they are no longer tiny and "cute," kids often lose interest, and the rabbit, who has no voice to remind you he's hungry, or thirsty or needs his caged cleaned, is gradually neglected.

Parents, please help. If you're thinking about adding a rabbit to your family think about this:

Rabbits are the third most-frequently relinquished companion animals at shelters across the country, right behind dogs and cats.

Pet rabbits have a lifespan of 7-10 years. Don't buy on impulse. Make an informed decision by learning about rabbit care first.

Please consider adopting a rabbit from your local shelter or rescue group. For the rabbit's health and well-being (as well as for your child's) make sure an adult will be the primary caretaker and will always supervise any children in the household who are interacting with the rabbit. Domestic rabbits are inquisitive, intelligent, and very social by nature.

A rabbit is a delightful companion animal as long as you remember: Getting a bunny for your child always comes back to ONE VERY IMPORTANT DETAIL… you need to want that bunny in your life as much as your child!

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IN MY CAGE
By Mary Brandolino

I remember Easter Sunday
It was colorful and fun
The new life that I'd begun
In my new cage.

I was just a little thing
When they brought me from the store
And they put me on the floor
In my cage.

They would take me out to play
Love and pet me all the time
Then at day's end I would climb
In my cage.

But as days and weeks went by
I saw less of them it seemed
Of their loving touch I dreamed
In my cage.

In the night outside their house
I felt sad and so neglected
Often scared and unprotected
In my cage.

In the dry or rainy weather
Sometimes hotter sometimes colder
I just sat there growing older
In my cage.

The cat and dog raced by me
Playing with each other only
While I sat there feeling lonely
In my cage.

Upon the fresh green grass
Children skipped and laughed all day
I could only watch them play
From my cage.

They used to take me out
And let me scamper in the sun
I no longer get to run
In my cage.

Once a cute and cuddly bunny
Like a little ball of cotton
Now I'm grown up and forgotten
In my cage.

I don't know what went wrong
At the home I did inhabit
I just grew to be a rabbit
In my cage.

But they've brought me to the pound
I was once loved and enjoyed
Now I wait to be destroyed
In my cage.

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