Don’t buy kids bunnies for Easter: BC SPCA
Posted April 4, 2012 12:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DELTA (NEWS1130) – They may make a cute Easter gift for little Timmy or Sally, but rabbits are taking over some local parks.
The Corporation of Delta wants the province to implement legislation to ban the sale of unsterilized bunnies.
Earlier this year, Delta launched a $60,000 program to sterilize, tag and relocate the furry animals because the rabbit population has grown to about 500 over the past five years. Options to get rid of them are limited; culling, for example, is very controversial.
The BC SPCA‘s Marcie Moriarty supports the proposed legislation and says it’s an unfortunate reality that bunnies are abandoned especially around Easter. “The abandonment of rabbits is a huge welfare issue. People think, ‘Well, I’m dropping off fluffy in a nice park and fluffy will live a great life.’ That’s simply not the reality.”
Several municipalities like Victoria, Richmond and Coquitlam have already implemented their own by-laws to regulate rabbits.
“They can be an amazing pet, but they most certainly are not a starter pet. They most certainly not appropriate for young children and they take a lot of work,” insists Moriarty, who suggests buying chocolate as an Easter gift instead.
