Cautionary Tales of Adopting Easter Bunnies 

Rabbit rescue organization leaders are cautious about adoptions during the Easter holiday as Florida neighborhoods are still hopping with pets of yesteryear gone wild.

“We do not adopt out for children. They have to wait until after Easter and visit the sanctuary, so they can make an informed decision,” said Jennifer Macbeth, president of Southwest Florida House Rabbit Rescue, with a home sanctuary located in Estero.

“It’s a horrible idea to get a rabbit as a gift, especially for children,” said Macbeth. “Rabbits are not good with kids,” she added.

Neglect, abandonment, and early death are among the potential negative outcomes of many Easter adoptions, according to animal cruelty experts, including a recent public statement from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Animal Cruelty Task Force.

Naples and Fort Myers both have colonies of abandoned pet rabbits living outdoors. 

“Dismally, an estimated 90 percent of all bunnies given as Easter gifts are either surrendered to shelters, turned loose in the wild and/or die. All outcomes are horrific,” the Animal Cruelty Task Force said in the April prepared statement.

Humane Society Naples has rabbits available for adoption as early as this Easter - if the adopting family passes an interview with their staff. 

Waiting until after Easter can ensure the passion for a rabbit is long term, Macbeth recommended. 

About three months after the adoption of a baby Easter bunny, the rabbits hit maturity and become a bit unmanageable, MacBeth said. 

“And by then, the kids have lost interest as the rabbit is no longer a cute baby. So, they toss them out, or the rabbit lingers imprisoned in a cage until they die,” Macbeth added. 

Many of the statistics related to real-life Easter bunny adoptions are bleak, leading Macbeth to suggest chocolate and stuffed animals instead. 

“Eighty percent of Easter adoptions won’t live to see their first year,” Macbeth said.

Rabbits have light, hollow bones and specific dietary needs, she said. 

“They have fragile spines and end up with broken legs or backs if a child drops them,” Macbeth said. 

"Last year alone, our rescue received over 1,200 surrender requests, mostly from parents that got a rabbit for their child and realized it was not a good fit,” Macbeth said.

Even with a network of foster homes and many at her sanctuary, they are only able to help about 10 percent of the rabbits in need of rescue.

There are at least three young sibling bunnies ready for adoption at Humane Society of Naples. The three young ‘buns’ are about three months old, which is old enough for the two males, Gandolph and Marry, to be neutered. Their surgeries are scheduled for Good Friday, said Humane Society staff. The female will need to wait several weeks for her surgery.

Because rabbits are prolific, having many offspring in a short time, timely neuters and spays are important. If someone adopts a rabbit from the Humane Society before their surgical appointment, a deposit of $200 is required to ensure the rabbits are neutered or spayed by the adoptive person or family. The rabbit adoption fee there is $35, nonrefundable. 

Baby rabbits, or kits, who are unwanted by their human caretakers can lead to nearly irreversible challenges for the community, such as the ongoing pet rabbits gone wild dilemmas within the North Naples community of Orange Tree. The community, located off Immokalee Road in northeastern Golden Gate Estates, was altered at least two years ago after an at-home rabbit breeder let several rabbits out of the house and never brought them back inside. Now, days before the third Easter since the rabbit pets went loose, each yard in the neighborhood is peppered with colorful pet rabbits, ancestors of the original pets, lounging on lawns day and night. The ongoing population of predominantly European breeds that are not native to Florida now live outdoors. They are fed by neighbors and are frequently struck by automobiles, experiencing predation and infections at rates higher than the native Eastern cottontail and marsh species.

“Domestic rabbits lack the survival skills required for outdoor living and are easy prey to local predators. They are not equipped to survive diseases that they will likely be exposed to; have dietary differences when compared to wild rabbits; and their coat colors don’t provide camouflage from predatory animals,” according to the statement from the Animal Cruelty Task Force.

Southwest Florida House Rabbit Rescue offered to work with Collier County Domestic Animal Services and the Orange Tree community’s homeowners association to wrangle the rabbits, organize veterinarian care, then foster and adopt them. However, many of the residents of Orange Tree bonded with the rabbits and do not want them rescued, saying they don’t need help, a sentiment long echoed by Ken Aller, a rabbit-feeding resident of Orange Tree. 

The HOA board did not return calls to this reporter. Lounging rabbits decorate the lawns of Orange Tree amidst nearby pink flamingo yard stakes.

Still, adoptable rabbits abound in Southwest Florida and rabbit rescues are eager to help match rabbits with households - especially after the Easter holiday, April 20. Anytime, adoption may be preferred to shopping to help minimize overpopulation, rescue organization members said. 

Visit RespectforRabbits.org, HSNaples.org or 24petconnect.com to view adoptable rabbits in Collier County. Lee County DAS, at leegov.com/animalservices, also has a white long-haired rabbit named Lucy for adoption.