VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 12:47:17 04/13/03 Sun
Author: Firewife
Subject: Bunny often not wise choice for Easter!

Press of Atlantic City: Bunny often not wise choice for Easter

April 13, 2003

Bunny often not wise choice for Easter
By ELAINE ROSE Staff Writer, (609) 272-7215

A cute little bunny stares out of a cage at the pet store or garden center, and the familiar refrain comes out of your offspring's mouth.

"I want one!"

The store charges only $5 or $10 for the adorable little critter, so you reach for your wallet.

Before you head to the cash register, take a moment to think, animal experts say. Better yet, take several moments.

Are you prepared to make an eight-year - or longer - commitment to caring for the animal?

"The biggest problem with Easter is people will buy them for the kids, thinking they want them ... and then the kids lose interest," said Laura Warner of Woodbury, who runs the South Jersey Rabbit Rescue. "If you buy one for a 10-year-old (and take proper care of it), when the kid's going off to college, you still have that rabbit."

"People get them on impulse because they're cute, and they can live six to eight years," said Leslie Pulvino, co-manager of the Humane Society of Ocean City. "The children get them, and they get tired of them fast, because rabbits really don't do much."

Can't survive in the wild-
Pulvino said she gets plenty of calls from people who bought bunnies for their children on impulse, and now the children won't take care of them. But the shelter doesn't take in rabbits, because it's almost impossible to find them new homes.

"The saddest thing that happens is a lot of people set them free and think they can live outside," Pulvino said. "Domestic rabbits cannot survive outside like wild rabbits," as they do not know how to forage for food and hide from predators.

Linda Catalano, president of the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, sees the lucky ones.

"We get many rabbits that animal control picks up as strays," Catalano said. "We don't get calls from people who lost a rabbit, so we know people just set them loose."

About 1 million bunnies are euthanized every year in the United States. Many bought as Easter bunnies don't live to see their first birthdays.

If you really want a rabbit, do some research first, Warner suggested. There are several good books on rabbit care and the Internet is full of useful information. Think about why you want a rabbit instead of a cat or a dog.

Rabbits are easier to care for than dogs, Warner said. They require about the same amount of care as a cat.

Warner said there are several things to consider before getting a rabbit:

Most rabbits don't like to be held, which will disappoint children who want to cuddle them.


The rabbit's cage should be at least 3 feet long, to give it plenty of room.


Rabbits need exercise. A minimum of two or three hours a day out of the cage and hopping around the house are needed to keep them healthy. You have to rabbit-proof your house, unless you want the furniture, books and electric cords to get chomped on.


Rabbits need toys for entertainment. They like to play with baby keys, wooden hanging bird toys and to chase little balls. Unfinished baskets and the cores of paper-towel rolls provide chewing pleasure.


Rabbit pellets are OK as a supplement, but they need unlimited access to timothy hay and access to green vegetables after they are 6 months old. Younger rabbits get sick on vegetables.


Spay or neuter your pet rabbit or they will breed. Females can have up to 12 litters a year. Unspayed females have an 80 percent chance of getting uterine cancer before they are 2 years old.


They can be trained to use a litter box like a cat. Spayed and neutered rabbits have an 80 to 90 percent chance of being litter trained, while the odds are 50-50 for those who aren't "fixed." Litter made of recycled newspapers is preferable to clay litter.


If you can't care for your rabbit, don't set it loose in the woods. Bring it to a shelter or rescue group so it has another chance for a good home.

As an alternative, a stuffed bunny is almost as cute and cuddly, and no one suffers when the youngster is ready to toss the toy aside.

For more information on the care of rabbits, logon to

www.southjerseyrabbitrescue.org

To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:

ERose@pressofac.com

http://www.animalconcerns.org/external.html?www=http%3A//www.pressofatlanticci

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.