[tinypixiexoxo]

My boyfriend forwarded me an email about a bunny that needs a new home.. Seeing as it is the Easter season and many bunnies will be orphaned and abandoned, I really want to take this little guy in..

But I also know that bunnies need lots of space, attention, exercise, etc., and being a full time graduate student with other pets and a huge garden, I just don't know if I'll have time. I feel so bad because I know that so many bunnies will soon be euthanized..

 

[Nibbler]

aww keep in might your hearts in the right place but you cant save them all unfortunatley i to hate bunny season for this reason. but if u really want to save him what if you ask your boyfriend to split the task of taking care of him with you?

 

[Jess]

This is why I hate Easter. I'm already seeing the Easter Bunny adds on CL, and there's an Easter Bunny movie called "Hops" that is comming out too apparentlt. People don't realize that bunnies aren't as cute and cuddly as they appear. I think I should rent out Smudge for the holidays, so people realize that they are actually a big fuzzy ball of evil with a cute face. (LOL, JK Smudge isn't THAT bad, as fas as bunnies go!)


They are a huge responsibility, so you really do need to make sure you can the time to give one enough attention, and the money for one too. Getting them fixed is pretty spendy, and they need pretty big enclosures and a minimum of 4 hours a day for exercise. If you adopt one that is fixed and litter trained, it would make life a lot easier.

 

[Purple-Hops]

Aw, I know your frustrations. The ONLY small animal rescue here has a full house as it is and with easter around the corner god knows she'll be swamped with hormonal teenaged bunnies. They are such terrors!! I never want another teenager bunny again!! lol
don't feel too bad about the little bunny. I'm also a full time student but while I'm home the bunny pen is open and Acacia has free run of our room. She can come and go as she pleases for many hours in the day and since she's anti-social she doesn't require much me time. . No more than I give her anyway!! She has no time for me outside food time -_-. If you and your bf can accommodate even an outdoor enclosure (since its warming up) and the expense of hay and vets and food etc. . Then I would say do some research and get her.

Taking her simply bc you feel bad about the pending bunny-euthanasia season is -as you understand, not a good idea. At least maybe volunteer or offer a foster for a bunny or two until they find a home. . Fostering is actually a really great idea before commiting full time to a pet anyway. That way you can see if a bunny fits your lifestyle! ^.^ Bless you for seeing easter as an evil tradition (at least for bunnies) and wanting to help. Post pictures on campus of a chocolate bunny "make mine chocolate"!! Those stop people usually.

 

[tinypixiexoxo]

thanks to each of you, good advice.
I'm wondering if either my boyfriend or my apartment buildings would frown upon a bunny.. my building is pet friendly but for cats and dogs they require a deposit and i think also a little more monthly.. They know I have dwarves and a hedgehog but I don't think I could hide a bunny, espeically since this is a college apartment area and they do "apartment checks" for contraband all the time..

I was actually thinking of talking my parents into letting me keep him at their house. I am the last child out, so they have a big house... My pug dog lives there but if I kept the bunny in the basement I think it'd be okay..

It might be a good idea to "foster" him first.. but I know very well that I will probably never find a suitable home for him. I would just have to make the 10 minute trip home each evening for a few hours. Maybe my dad or mom could pitch in? Anyway we will have to kick this idea around for a bit. Money isn't an issue, thank god, but time and what not is. And, I don't want an unhappy bunny.

Also, I just learned that he was "found", so someone already abandoned him. That means a vet check and what not, this is a complicated issue :/

 

[Nibbler]

i love how our spca works around here for easter they do not allow adoption for that month of rabbits, and for halloween its black and orange cats, just because so many people want them for the wrong reasons.

 

[Purple-Hops]

Fostering for an actual organization would be a good idea since adopting would be out of your hands. Taking them from real people from ads is a generous-to-the-bunny idea but awareness and lessons will be hard for the person getting rid of it to grasp a hold of. These idiots need to learn that although someone may always comes along to take their pet, what they're doing is still wrong. Too bad the general public wasn't allowed to impose the rules

 

[Sasami]

Fostering for an actual organization would be a good idea since adopting would be out of your hands.

I agree with this . I foster rabbits for a local rescue and it's very rewarding. Plus, the rescue has the publicity and resources necessary to find the rabbits new homes .

 

[moonchild]

I foster rabbits, and I allowed a photographer to foster 3 of them for a week. She is going to do photo shoots, and will donate money to the rescue. Only one rabbit belongs to the rescue, and the other two are mine. This is the first time I have done this. I hope it works out well. Last year, they got their rabbits from a breeder, but decided they wanted to help out rescue rabbits this year.

 

[Kendalle]

at our shelter the bunnies get adopted really fast.

 

[lotte]

:yikes: people dont actually buy bunnies just because its easter..... thats shocking!!!!

I'd never realised I knew it happened at christmas with puppies and the such but didnt know it was the same at easter.

That makes me sad.

 

[Dragonrain]

Yeah after Easter is a really bad time for a lot of rabbits, unfortunately.

While I applaud your willingness to help, do make sure you can provide for the bunny properly and/or have the time to search for and screen new homes.

Would your parents care for the rabbit if you left it with them? Make sure they are fully onboard with the idea because rabbits can be a lot more work than I think most people realize. Even if you go home everyday to care for him, remember that bunnies can be messy and destructive, which are things your parents may have to deal with having the rabbit in their home, even if they are not the main caretakers.

Have you looked for any rabbit rescues in your area? Some of them might be willing to have you foster him for them. Then they do all the screening needed for any potential adopters. Or, in the very least, if you are thinking of rehoming him, a lot of shelters will do curtasy listings on Petfinder. I think that would be a better place to list him than craigslist or any of those types of places.

 

[binkies]

We need to educate people!

 

[tinypixiexoxo]

We do, but we may not be able to get to everyone who might at some point selfishly buys a bunny. I wonder if easter bunnies come from specific sources.. like breeders who make most $ during this season, instead of focusing on producing quality bunnies who will be assured a good home. If we or someone can get to them, then we can nip the problem in the bud. But "we" is hard, we are an internet community, and if we reach out to community or gov leaders, they may or may not even care. No one thinks of the bunnies! Except we do :/

 

[Jess]

I see a lot of "Easter Bunnies" for free on Craigslist. I think CL, most pet stores (There are some that won't sell bunnies over Easter) and BYBs are the main sources for them.

 

[VanillaRat]

at our shelter the bunnies get adopted really fast.

Really? Thats good (as long as they are going to good homes). The ONLY small animal rescue here has rabbits still in the rescue that have been there for 2-3 yrs...:no2:

If you are unsure about the rabbit commitment,I am on the foster team. Try fostering. That way you can decide whether a bunny is right for you and if it doesn't work out,the rescue can take the bunny back.

Fostering is very rewarding. I foster rats and dogs and have fostered guinea pigs. I have thought of fostering bunnies,but I am not sure. I know how much work comes with bunnies and the rats already take up a huge chunk of my time/money. Maybe one day. I really like the New Zealand white buns that my local rescue have and sadly they are some of the ones that have been there the longest.

 

[Purple-Hops]

Ah, the NZW.. Poor little guys. I know the rescue began getting calls a couple days ago about people already sick of their easter bunnies.

 

[Jovie]

What does the rescue tell people? I'm sure they get upset since they have tons of buns that need homes.

 

[Sasami]

at our shelter the bunnies get adopted really fast.

Really? I don't think your shelter is the norm. The rescue here has rabbits who have been there for years . Most never get adopted.

 

[VanillaRat]

Really? I don't think your shelter is the norm. The rescue here has rabbits who have been there for years . Most never get adopted.

That is how our rescue is.
Rabbits sitting there for years with no "furever" home.

EDIT: http://www.birdandsmallanimalrescue.com/rabbitsforadoption.htm