The Easter Bunny is perhaps the most well-known holiday character after Santa Claus. Not only is he prominent in many family traditions, but he also makes appearances in Easter baskets everywhere in the form of chocolates or stuffed toys.

Many well-intentioned parents may also bring a real, live Easter bunny home to excited children. While these intentions may have been good, often bringing home a rabbit ends up badly for both the children and the rabbit. Sadly, after cats and dogs, more rabbits are abandonded or surrendered to animal shelters than any other animal.

Many people who purchase bunnies at Easter don’t realize that caring for a rabbit is a ten-year commitment. Including:

• house-training (rabbits can be litter box trained)
• bunny-proofing your house (rabbits like to chew on wires, boxes, papers, among other things)
• several hours of daily playtime
• spaying or neutering

Contrary to popular belief, rabbits are not the perfect small animal for children. Rabbits like the ground and become frightened when held or restrained. This fear can lead to kicking and scratching, which can cause injury to whoever is holding them. They also have incredibly fragile spines. If dropped the rabbit could break their back or worse.

Caring for a rabbit can be a lot of work. In fact, rabbits can take just as much time, attention and care as a dog or cat would.

Sometimes, when people realize they’re in over their heads, they’ll release their family pet rabbit into the wild. This is an extremely dangerous choice since domestic rabbits are not the same as their cousins and most won’t survive outside on their own.

Because well-intentioned people can unknowingly make bad decisions, it’s important to do plenty of research. Before making a lifelong commitment to a rabbit, take some time to read the information at rabbitron.com.

One last thing: If you’ve done all the research and still want a rabbit, please don’t shop, adopt. Contact your local animal shelter or a rescue organization like Hug-a-Bunny Rabbit Rescue, the House Rabbit Network, or Rabbit Rescue.

Brightly colored newborn chicks might seem like the perfect festive Easter gift for an excited young person, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In reality, dyed chicks is a cruel practice that turns live birds into nothing more than playthings that are quickly discarded by children with short attention spans.

These birds have many of the same needs as rabbits do — plenty of attention, room to roam and roost, veterinary care — and they face many of the same problems, too. Much like rabbits, people can become overwhelmed by the idea of caring for a baby chick as it grows into adult chickens, which can lead to abandonment or worse.

Unfortunately, these young birds have no knowledge or the experience of foraging or evading predators, making death an inevitable possibility. For those that do survive, they can ban together into feral colonies, disrupting native wildlife populations. Once the communities become unmanageable, cities will enact mandatory culling of the birds.

Easter chicks surrendered to animal shelters (if you can find one to take them) don’t fare any better either. In spring, many shelters and humane societies become overburdened, and finding suitable homes for them can be a real challenge.

The sad truth is, many of these chicks will eventually be euthanized because there are not enough adoptive homes for them.

In addition to the problems of caring for young chicks, the practice of tinting animals is also problematic for other ethical reasons. According to the New York Times, about half of the United States currently have laws against dyeing animals.

The process is unnecessary and invasive.

“You take regular food coloring and inject it into the egg on the 18th day of incubation,” said Peter R. There, a retired poultry rancher who lives outside Lampasas, Texas. “They take 21 days to hatch. Put a little dab of wax on top to cover the hole up, and put it back in the incubator.”

But this is only one method; others are even crueler. 

Another tinting process begins with newborn chicks inside a large bucket or container. A worker will pour food dye over the chicks before shaking them — similar to tossing a salad — to obtain an even coat.

Some don’t survive the process, while others sustain injuries like broken bones. None of the birds make it out unscathed from the process.

Please remember, baby chicks might seem like a cute gift, but they grow up into adult chickens who will need time, attention, and veterinary care. Instead of offering children brightly colored chicks as real, live toys choose a cute stuffed toy for their vegan Easter basket instead.

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