Many children wish for a rabbit at Easter. The desire for a live cuddly toy is often so great that it is fulfilled by the parents or other relatives. But unfortunately the living Easter present often ends lonely in a cage that is much too small or already after a short time in the animal shelter or in the zoo as snake food.

Whoever gives away a rabbit burdens the recipient with a lot of work and financial expenditure: For a species-appropriate attitude the building of a suitable free run enclosure with isolated sleep place is indispensable. "In addition, rabbits must be held at least to second", recommends animal protector Susy Utzinger. Living rabbits are not cuddly animals! It is not in the sense and in the nature of the rabbit to land on the arm of a human being and to be stroked calmly. Therefore it can quite happen that the "cuddly toy" leaves painful traces on the body of the stroking child.

The end of the former Easter presents is often sad: Many rabbits vegetate lonely in their cages after the first joy. Susy Utzinger: "Some of them are given away indiscriminately, end up in the animal shelter, in the zoo as snake food or are otherwise "disposed of".

So the supposedly good argument to teach children how to deal with animals and to exercise responsibility becomes a very bad lesson: that you can "remove" an animal as soon as you lose interest and do not have to take responsibility for living beings.

--> On the site "Keeping of pets and wild animals" of the Federal Office Safety and Veterinary Office you find bases for an animal-fair rabbit attitude: https://www.blv.admin.ch/blv/en/home/tiere/tierschutz/heim-und-wildtierhaltung.html