Pets at Home has announced it will temporarily halt the sale of rabbits.
Customers will be unable to buy or adopt the animals across its 460 branches from April 18-21.
Pets at Home says the policy is in line with its commitment to responsible pet ownership.
A Pets at Home spokesperson said: ‘Every year, we make the decision to temporarily halt rabbit sales over the Easter weekend.
‘This is a deliberate action to discourage any impulsive choices about owning a rabbit, given their close association with this time of year.
‘Rabbits make wonderful pets, however, they are not the ‘easy’ pet that they can often be thought of as.
‘Rabbits have complex needs, including specialised dietary requirements and environments, and we always want to educate and encourage careful reflection on how those needs will be met before homing.’
(Credits: Getty Images)
The decision comes as historically the trend of buying rabbits over the Easter weekend results in more of them being sent to animal rescue centres.
The animal rights organisation Peta UK says around four out of five rabbits bought around Easter die within a year.
A spokesperson said: ‘Weeks or sometimes mere days later, they’re discarded like unwanted Easter egg packaging – a staggering four out of five rabbits bought around Easter are abandoned or die within a year.’
For people turning up to Pets at Home stores looking to buy a rabbit they will be greeted with a sign that says: ‘Owning a rabbit can be very rewarding and enjoyable. It’s also a long-term commitment that you need to make sure you’re ready for. We pride ourselves on putting pets before profit, so we’ve made the decision not to sell or adopt rabbits over the Easter weekend (April 18 to 21).’
According to the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), the pet rabbit population in the UK is around 800,000.
This means an estimated 2% of adults have one and are the third most popular pet in the UK.
But the Rabbit Welfare Association has warned that the country is facing its ‘worst rabbit rescue crisis ever’.
The charity has warned that anyone is legally allowed to start breeding and selling rabbits.
It says this leads to ‘uneducated and inexperienced rabbit owners having multiple litters that they can’t look after or sell on to responsible pet owners’.
This has led to rabbit breeders having no licence, inspection or standards.
This results in missexed babies sold without any checks or care information and owners dealing with accidental litters.
Images of rabbits are traditionally associated with Easter because of their symbolism of renewal and new beginnings.
Easter is popularly symbolised by the Easter Bunny – personified by bringing chocolate.
Pets at Home was forced to stop selling a furry favourite in February over fears they were spreading a worrying infection.
The pet shop discovered cases of Streptococcus, commonly known as Strep, among their guinea pig population.
Strep is a bacteria which can cause dangerous infections in animals, including life-threatening pneumonia in guinea pigs.
A family were also left ‘disgusted’ when they took home two ‘infected’ guinea pigs from Pets at Home in February.
Carl Tyrrell, his partner Tiffany and his son Logan, bought two guinea pigs from Pets at Home in Lincoln, who soon became worryingly ill with the ‘contagious’ respiratory virus.
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