The Animal Welfare Society of SA has urged mense to refrain from giving bunnies as presents this Easter.
“This time of the year, ‘pet’ shops do big business in Easter bunnies but rest assured they do not make for good ‘starter’ pets,” the organisation warns.
It said anyone considering getting an Easter bunny should first read the story about Bunny, a four-year-old pet rabbit from Athlone who recently underwent surgery to remove two enormous, painful bladder stones from his ureters, costing his owner ‘n klomp geld.
“This was the first time that our hospital team had performed this delicate procedure known as a cystotomy on a rabbit and they were astounded by his rapid recovery,” the AWS states.
“He is much happier now and has been reunited with his owner who was advised that in order to prevent a recurrence, she would need to make a number of environmental and dietary changes, the most important being a reduction of calcium in his diet.
“The moral of the story is that if you are considering getting a pet rabbit, definitely adopt from your nearest pet shelter, [and] be aware that they are high maintenance.”
It urged mense to rather get bunnies of the chocolate kind.