Contact: Vineeta Anand
Cell: (703) 967-4696
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March 3, 2002

RABBIT RESCUE GROUP PLEADS: SAY NO TO EASTER BUNNIES
PLANS STUFFED TOY RABBIT GIVEAWAY INSTEAD

ALEXANDRIA, VA.--While Easter is traditionally a time of joy, for thousands of rabbits it is a death sentence.

Each year, too many well-intentioned parents rush to pet stores to buy baby rabbits for their children as Easter gifts, knowing that the soft, cuddly animals will make their children happy for at least one day.

But these "Easter Bunnies" often purchased on an impulse, and without any thought for the care they need, are just as easily discarded as any other toys, a few days, weeks, or sometimes a few months later.

All too often, these unlucky rabbits are abandoned in dumpsters, in parking lots and garages or simply turned loose outside. The luckier ones are dumped at animal shelters, where they are frequently euthanized. Others, like discarded holiday gifts, may end up in the basement or the garage where they languish in a cage without adequate food, water, medical attention or love.

Rabbits that continue sitting on pet store shelves after Easter often are sold as "feeders" to reptile owners.

Friends of Rabbits, an Alexandria, Va.-based rabbit welfare group, is planning to give away 100 stuffed toy rabbits in an effort to discourage people from buying live Easter bunnies.

The toy giveaway will take place at A Likely Story, an Alexandria children’s bookstore, on Sat. March 30,  from 11 a.m.-noon. The bookstore is located at 1555 King St., Alexandria, Va. Tel: (703) 836-2498.

The group reminds adults planning to buy Easter bunnies that the toys Friends of Rabbits is giving away cost nothing and will give children as much pleasure for a day as a live rabbit. The one important difference: rabbits can live for as long as 16 years, so this year’s gift to a 5-year-old-child may still be around when that child is ready for college. Rabbits, like cats, dogs and other companion animals, need not only food, water and shelter, but love, and a long-term commitment to care.

Friends of Rabbits also points out that while the toy rabbits are free, live rabbits require housing, food, litter, and medical care that can run into hundreds of dollars each year.

The rescue group, which each year rescues many homeless and abandoned rabbits, also reminds those who do want to bring home rabbits that they are not low-maintenance pets.

Rabbits need to be spayed or neutered in order to prevent "marking" by urine or feces. And, because rabbits, like their rodent cousins are chewers, rabbit owners need to bunny-proof their homes. Otherwise rabbit owners might find their telephones, televisions, lamps, computers or stereo systems have mysteriously stopped working. Worse, an unsuspecting rabbit that chews right through an electrical cord could be electrocuted.

Friends of Rabbits also notes that rabbits are intelligent, affectionate and social animals that need company and human interaction, not just a cage in a corner of the garage or backyard.

Moreover, rabbits are fragile and suffer easily from a range of health problems, and suffer a high mortality rabbit. Specialized medical care, if available, is far more expensive than that for cats and dogs.

That is not to say that rabbits don’t make good house companions. The focus of many childhood stories and folk tales, rabbits are delightful animals with an amazing capacity for affection. Bunny acrobatics, consisting of leaps, somersaults and whirls can put many Olympic athletes to shame.

What’s more, rabbits can be easily trained to use a litter-box and to respond to commands.

And, contrary to popular belief, rabbits can get along very well in a household with birds, cats and even dogs so long as those other pets are properly introduced to the rabbits.

For the hundreds of area residents already hooked on the rabbit habit, Friends of Rabbits regularly holds a series of seminars and workshops on rabbit behavior and health care in partnership with area veterinarians. The group also has organized hugely successful "Spa Days" where owners can bring their rabbits for grooming, nail clipping and massages.

For more information, visit Friends of Rabbits on the web at www.friendsofrabbits.org