With Easter approaching, just a little PSA not to buy or give rabbits for Easter.
Yes, they're very very cute, and yes, you can get some adorable pictures of them in Easter baskets. But rabbits are not toys. They are little living beings. They need to be cared for and not discarded. They are not starter pets, and they are not good pets for children. A child cannot be the primary caregiver for a rabbit. They're very fragile, have complicated diets, and can be quite expensive. Rabbits can live to be 10+ years, they are not a short term commitment. They are not low maintenance, and can't live in the kind of cage you most often see advertised for rabbits. They either need a large exercise pen or to be free roamed, aka let them live in your home with you like you would a cat or dog. They are very easily litter trained and can become a member of the family just like any pet if taken care of properly.
Rabbits are very social animals and require a lot of attention, they can't be left in a small cage until your kid comes home from school or you come home for work to play with them for an hour. Rabbits are also not cuddly. They're prey animals, and slow to trust. Getting picked up scares them and they need a lot of time to warm up to you. A rabbit that's constantly picked up or grabbed can become aggressive out of fear, you need to approach them differently than you would cat or dog.
The majority of rabbits given as Easter gifts are either surrendered to shelters or abandoned outside. Please please never set a domestic rabbit free in the wild. Domestic rabbits are not wild rabbits, they do not know how to survive. They will likely die within days of being released.
They can be wonderful pets, but there is a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings about how to care for them, and there are a lot of abandoned rabbits. Most toys and treats marketed for rabbits in pet stores are actually not safe for them.
If you are considering getting a pet rabbit, I am begging you to do your research. Understand the commitment for what it is. A few great resources for learning about proper rabbit care are:
Everyone listen. If you ever wanted to volunteer in an animal shelter but thought 'eh, they don't need my help, there's a lot of people there' trust me. They do need your help. Yes even if there are a lot of people they are exhausted. They get so many calls of dogs and cats needing rescue. They often take them in to their own homes because other volunteers/workers don't have a place for more animals anymore. I know a shelter volunteer who has tons of kittens at her house. Another one who feeds stray cats. People who spend tons of their own money on helping those animals because there's no one else that will do it. Any help is always appreciated, even if you can be there only once per month. So please, support your local animal shelters. They need it
saw a post about how nice it would be to have your dog's image live forever and yeah me too this is my baby i waited until i was in my 20s to have her she is my first dog & i love her more everyday. She was 9 when i got her and she's 14 as of September 💗💌💭 #Raya #DogsOfTumblr #RescueDog #SeniorPets
The rescue and education center, Wild Education, needs some help.
I work for a rescue and education center for reptiles and small exotic pets in the Vancouver BC area. Wild Education is the largest rescue of our kind in all of BC. Last year, we took in a record breaking 123 surrendered animals, and this year, we are well on our way to breaking that record with 117 animals (as of Oct 11th, 2023) so far.
We absolutely love these animals, but many of them have come to us sick and in need of veterinarian care.
On top of that, we need a new home. The greenhouse we currently rent is on a property that is going to be sold soon. We need to find a new location and build all new enclosures for our scaley and furry friends. With housing prices and the cost of wood being so high, we need some help.
If you are able to donate even just $5, it would definitely help.
If you can't donate, please share! It really means a lot to us.
Adding some pictures of animals we have rescued this year and others in our education program. If you have any questions about what we do, please ask.
I was just minding my own business, eating some noodles, when this jingly, blue ball comes rolling from the living room. And this scrungly cat follows, doing whatever that is she’s doing. Her tail looks so weird lmfao! 🤣
She can run so fast! Because she likes pouncing on feet, it terrifies me that I might accidentally step on her. Wonton and Siomai already nearly take me out on the regular. 😩