A Bunny is For Life….

Toffee

…NOT JUST FOR EASTER.
Hi, my name is Toffee & I feel very strongly about this time of the year so I wanted to do this post.  Us bunnies are used in various advertising campaigns at this time of year, we all look very cute & adorable.  Then of course our cousin the Easter Bunny is out & about too, delivering tasty treats.  So it’s a nice time of year, cuddly bunnies everywhere, treats on their way & spring is in the air.
However, it is not such a nice time of year for some of us bunnies, the ones who are bought or adopted because of all these cute bunny adverts.  People often don’t understand what is involved in caring for a bunny & we aren’t the cheap pet that most people think either.  An average minimum vet bill costs about £25 & that is before you start adding up the medication. Pet insurance might help but often there are exclusions.  The cute lop eared bunnies, like Annie,  are known for often having teeth issues, like any manufactured breed there is usually some negative side effect, you only have to look at the dog world.  So they can be a costly bunny.

Annie so cute, imagine how cute she was as a baby too.

The worst thing you can do is become swept up in all the Easter bunny excitement & go out & buy one on a whim.  As with any pet, you need to think about our needs, we aren’t pets that should be just shut away in a hutch, hutches should be a thing of the past for us bunnies, we need exercise, stimulation & the proper care. You need to be prepared to spend a reasonable amount of money on us per year & spend a reasonable amount of time with us too.  As we are prey animals we aren’t a pet who likes to be picked up & cuddled a lot, we don’t mind coming to you & interacting but not to be picked up & carried around like a ragdoll.  Sadly, we have become a disposable pet & all too often are passed on to many owners,  ending up in sanctuaries, some end up even worse.

Did you know bunnies are the commonest pet that are taking into vets to be put to sleep? Mainly because not everyone will spend the money on us or have the ‘it’s only a rabbit’ attitude.  Most of the bunnies needed have died.  In fact us domestic bunnies tend not to survive being released into the wild either, imagine Annie, she might as well have a target on her back as she will not be camouflaged from any predator, she’ll stand out like a beacon.  I would not survive either as my coat needs more than me to groom it.  An ill informed, no research & no serious thinking, of  purchasing a bunny throws us to a sad life.  Daisy is one rabbit who knows all too well, she has  been passed from one owner to another, she was only three when she came here & already she had passed through four owners, not to mention it gave her behavioural issues making it much harder to rehome her.  Apparently, most bunnies who are bought at Easter do not last in the household a year before being moved on.  How sad is that!

Daisy – another cutie!

So I would like you to think about the following before obtaining a bunny.

  • Pair – it’s not fair to have just one of us, we like company, we are a social animal.
  • Cost – vets bills are going to be more than you paid for the bunnies.  Are you prepared to folk out the cash?
  • Time – Can you give your bunnies enough of your time?  We need interaction.
  • Research – You must research our needs including diet, housing & health, look at our common health issues too.
  • We are not a child’s pet or if a child is involved there should be an adult supervising & making sure we are looked after properly.  Some children love caring for us, we know, but far too many give up on us.
  • Have you got enough space for us? A hutch is not enough, we need an exercise area to keep us healthy, both mentally & physically.  Don’t condemn us to a life of lockdown!  You humans must know how that feels but at least you have a TV & technology to keep you occupied, we often have nothing but 3 walls & a small opening where nothing goes on.

If you have done all your research & fully understand your responsibility then there is nothing wrong in you welcoming bunnies into your family at Easter.  I would though fully recommend you adopt from a sanctuary rather than buy from a breeder or pet shop. Me & my bunny family are all rescues & look how handsome & cute we all are.

If you have any doubts about owning a bunny or you’re caught up in the excitement of Easter, I would recommend you buy a book on caring for bunnies or do your research on the internet about rabbits or stick to this kind of bunny this Easter:

Yum Yum!!!!!!!

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