SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Who can resist adorable baby bunnies, especially if you have kids begging you to buy one?
Animal shelters are encouraging people to first learn about a bunny’s needs and then decide if a rabbit is the right pet for you or your child.
“You have to look at it like the people that are getting the rabbit might not be prepared for this responsibility,” said Greg Sabin of Disabled Pet Sanctuary in West Springfield.
He explained, “So even though it might be a fun surprise, it’s somehing you really want to go over with, at least the parents and the gift receivers because otherwise they might get the rabbit home and be like ‘great, now what do we do?'”
Sabin warns parents to avoid gifting bunnies to children this Easter, but if they do and recipients are unprepared to take care of it, he recommends they head over to Dakin Humane Society in Springfield.
According to Dakin’s website, rabbits need time to play outside of their cage every day to stretch their little legs which is critical to keeping them well-exercised and happy. But they should be supervised because they’re notorious chewers.
Rabbits don’t do good being cooped up in a hutch all day and are like a cat on steroids, so they’re going to be running all around your house.
The Humane Society of the United States reports rabbits are the third most abandoned pet in America, after cats and dogs.
It’s best to to do your research to see if your family’s ready to care for a bunny.
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