A RABBIT sanctuary is warning people against buying real bunnies as cuddly Easter gifts – because it’s being flooded with abandoned pets.
Buddies Bunny Rescue – the only organisation of its kind in Edinburgh and the Lothians – is also encouraging potential new owners to “adopt, not shop”.
The non-profit organisation is already looking after 70 abandoned animals and has a further 70 rabbits on a waiting list.
And Buddies Bunny Rescue owner Natalie Constance, 39, fears Easter will make the situation worse.
She explained: “Every year, just after Easter, we’re inundated with bunnies – quite often bunnies which have been bought from pet stores as cute Easter gifts but then their owners decide they don’t want them, or can’t look after them anymore. It’s heartbreaking.
“It also doesn’t help that pet stores encourage people to buy rabbits at Easter time – they even advertise hutches which can be bought which, more often than not, are too small for a rabbit. The shops stock up on bunnies and offer discounts to shoppers.
“We’re urging people who are considering getting a rabbit to adopt one from us, rather than buy one on a whim from a pet store. Adopt, don’t shop – and remember, a bunny is not just for Easter. It’s not a toy and people need to think very carefully before buying one – rabbits live for years.”
Natalie, who set up the shelter with pal Emma Boyd in 2005, said people buy baby rabbits at Easter when they are six or seven weeks old.
But when people go on holiday in June, they forget they have to find someone to look after them.
Other people just get bored of them, Natalie said.
Often the unwanted pets are dumped in the cold outside animal centres, which means some die.
And others suffer behavioural and health issues as a result of being abandoned.
Natalie added: “We have some rabbits that simply cannot be re-homed because they’re too poorly, or suffer from behavioural problems. Recently we received a black female rabbit that was found by a social worker. They found her in a box behind someone’s sofa. She was covered up and hidden.
“The poor thing was very distressed, which isn’t surprising – rabbits need space; their cage needs to be at least six feet long and two feet high and they also need some kind of run to get exercise.
“We’ve called the black rabbit Lauren and she’s now enjoying life in a decent space at the shelter in the company of other bunny friends.”
Buddies Bunny Rescue relies on public donations and Natalie and Emma have held numerous fundraising events over the years.
But next month, Natalie will take on the ultimate challenge in a bid to raise cash for the centre.
Although she’s terrified of heights, she’s agreed to take part in a parachute jump.
She said: “I must be mad. I’m scared of heights so god knows why I would want to jump out of an aeroplane.
“But I’m doing it to give a voice to the countless rabbits who suffer in silence, who are locked up in hutches, small and lonely.
“Something drastic needs to be done and I hope me throwing myself out a plane will help raise awareness to the problems and much needed funds for Buddies Bunnies.”
To sponsor Natalie, go to her webpage: www.justgiving.com/Natalie-Constance2