'Buy chocolate bunnies this easter, not real ones,' plead experts
Think long and hard before adopting a rabbit this week.
That’s the message from northern Ontario animal groups who fear on weeks like this, when we’re just days away from Easter, people may try to adopt bunnies without doing their proper research.
<photo>
The real concern is what will happen to the animals afterward. Experts told CTV News people should be prepared before taking on this commitment.
“Bunnies are not rodents, they’re lagomorphs, so they’re actually exotic pets so they’re not like dogs or cats,” said Enara Iturregui, of the Sudbury Bunny Rescue Room.
“Although their personality is very similar to both dogs and cats but it means that they’re maybe not as easy to re-home because they require a little bit more care.”
In moving back to Sudbury, Iturregui helped found the rescue seeing a need in the city.
The foster-based group has between 13 and 18 currently in their care.
While many of us can relate to being a ‘cat person’ or a ‘dog person,’ she said a ‘bunny person’ is someone who has read up on the extra care involved.
“They’re really amazing pets but there is a lot more on the owner’s part that has to be done because they are prey animals,” said Iturregui.
“Unlike a dog or a cat that’s a predator that’s relatively trusting of people, bunny people have to work at gaining their bunny’s trust.”
Iturregui and her team know there’s a dumping situation in the city. They know of a few dumping grounds where people have had to dispose of rabbits.
In a perfect world, she’s said, she is hopeful they could find homes for all their rabbits but added if you’re going to adopt, make sure it’s not just an Easter thing.
“It would also include those people who do adopt, making the commitment, looking up our organization, asking us questions because we are here to promote bunnies, we think they’re great pets,” said Iturregui
“We just don’t want people to be buying them on a whim.”
It is a sentiment shared by other groups, including Pet Save, which said while rabbits make great pets, you have to do your research.
“We still have bunnies that we’ve had up for adoption for the last year or two so they’re very hard to find homes for so we encourage people to try the chocolate bunny for the children and maybe steer clear of the actual bunnies,” said Pet Save director Jill Pessot.
Pet Save has made donations to the Rescue Room to help them with their efforts.
Since its creation last year, Iturregui figures they’ve been able to find 35 bunnies good homes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.