Easter is fast approaching. As a former rabbit owner, I wouldlike to say to the many people who are considering it: Do NOT buyyour children a live rabbit for Easter!
Rabbits, particularly bunnies, are adorable and irresistible.Most people, however, have no idea that rabbits live a long time(ours was 13 years old when we were forced to euthanize him). Andwhile he brought joy to our lives daily, he also left our familyroom with a half-dozen "potholes" in our carpeting, and every powercord that he could access had numerous spots with exposed wiringbecause he chewed off the insulation. A rabbit's sole recreationalactivity is chewing, and most people quickly find that they cannotkeep those cute little bunnies they bought only a few months earlierbecause of their destructive nature.
Unfortunately, many of these same people find the easiest thingto do is to turn the poor creatures loose (abandon them) in thewild, which is a sure death sentence. Domestic rabbits are notequipped to fend for themselves or
defend themselves against predators, and will die from exposurein regions with severely cold weather.
In the past 18 months, I have had to rescue two abandoneddomestic rabbits who wandered onto our property. The second rabbitwould have soon died because shortly after catching her, a bittercold snap occurred that lasted more than two weeks. So if you wantto buy your child a rabbit, make it a stuffed toy or milk chocolateone, and do some bunny -- and yourselves -- a favor.
Patrick Ryan,
Northlake
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