To the editor,
In preparation for the Easter holiday, many parents will consider getting a pet rabbit as a present for their children. Rabbits do NOT make good pets for young children. Rabbits are easily stressed by excessive handling, and children quickly lose interest in an animal that doesn’t like to be picked up and carried about. Stuffed toys however, enjoy this kind of attention.
Rabbits can live 8-10 years, and require regular cleaning and exercise. Sadly, shortly after Easter, animal shelters receive large numbers of rabbits, since people are not prepared to spend the time required to look after them properly. Other rabbits are left to linger outside in a small hutch, and many are simply “set free” when their human family tires of them. This is cruel and irresponsible. Rabbits are cute, but they’re not a pet for everyone.
By Angela Miller
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2006.
