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Bringing Home the Easter Bunny

Should Your Child Have a Rabbit as a Pet?

By Donna Smith

With Easter right around the corner, pet stores are stocking up on bunnies for sale. Doesn't everyone at one time or another think about buying a bunny for their children at Easter?

Many of these bunnies are bought on impulse, without knowing all the responsibility a rabbit requires. Not too long after Easter, many of these bunnies are neglected or taken to local shelters once the novelty wears off.

Before buying that cute, fluffy bunny in the window of the pet store, give it some thought. Do you have the time and patience to devote to a rabbit? And did you know that rabbits and young children are usually not a good combination?

Melissa Stockton bought a bunny for her preschooler last Easter. "We bought a baby bunny, and things were fine for a while," she says. "But when the bunny got a little older, he started to kick when Daniel picked him up. The kicks sometimes resulted in scratches and tears."

"Rabbits are ground-loving animals," says Roxanne Snopek, a registered animal health technician. "They do not particularly like to be picked up." Rabbits are also easily startled, and the energy of an active preschooler [or toddler] can frighten them. "The sudden movements and loud noises of young children make them nervous," she says. "They are physically unsuited to rough handling."

Rules were quickly established at Stockton's house. "Daniel had to sit down and put the bunny on his lap to pet him," she says. "The bunny, Peanut, was pretty tame by then and enjoyed being petted on his lap."

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