Happy Easter, Blog Pals!

Have a Wonderful Easter Weekend! I guarantee you that you'll love this video of a little bunny chowing down on a flower and then taking a bath. It is so cute.

Incidentally, this time of year there are plenty of online articles discussing all aspects of Easter celebrations. Many articles are wisely warning moms and dads to refrain from buying their children bunnies and chicks. Others are urging the continuation of such Easter traditions as egg hunts and leaving baskets with fake grass and candy and treats for the little ones on Sunday morning.

One of my favorite Easter articles appeared on the Swazi Observer's website. The Swazi Observer is a Swaziland-based newspaper with all kinds of cool stories. The paper's Q&A on Easter was fascinating. At one point, the FAQ raises the question of "Why bunnies?" on Easter. The answer:

The Easter bunny or rabbit comes from the hare, another ancient, pre-Christian symbol of fertility associated with spring. But it gets even more complicated than that. Anglo-Saxon mythology says Eostara changed her pet bird into a rabbit to entertain a group of children, and the rabbit laid brightly coloured eggs for them. The chocolate bunny, like the chocolate Easter egg, is a much more recent idea, stemming from 18th and 19th-century middle European confectionery traditions, many of which were adopted in Britain.

Makes sense. Check out the Swazi Observer Easter Q&A if you get a chance. They manage to pack lots of cool information into a very entertaining format. Another highly entertaining article comes from Denmark's Copenhagen Post. The headline: "Church Leaders: Fewer Chocolate Bunnies, More Jesus." The article contained some alarming news for the religiously inclined. A key graf:

A recent Gallup poll indicated some discouraging facts about the Christian Easter in Denmark: only a third of Danes said the religious aspect of Easter was important to them, while some 60 percent mainly associate Easter with a break from work. A majority of Danes also placed a much higher value on self-made traditions such as travelling and spending time with the family than on the religious meaning of Easter.

Good for the Danes. Unfortunately, on the other side of the world, New Zealanders have an unfortunate way of getting into the Easter spirit. "New Zealanders go rabbit hunting for the 'Great Easter Bunny Hunt,'" said an L.A. Times headline. The event is scheduled to occur in the Otago region of New Zealand. As one of the organizers explained:

Each team has 12 shooters, so that means we've got 564 hunters, plus their entourage - the 'picker-uppers', the cooks, the supporters -- heading out on to farms throughout Central Otago to do battle with the rabbits.

If I could Blog one parting wish to the bunnies of New Zealand: Be careful. Run fast. Avoid the marauding bands of humans. Actually, let's face it: That's good advice for bunnies and other animals everywhere.

Thinking of Adopting a Bunny for Easter? Support Farm Sanctuary Instead!

All across North America - in the United States and Canada - people mark the arrival of Easter in different ways. The Easter Basket full of candy, fake grass and toys is one way of celebrating the holiday. Sadly, another way involves live animals. Well-intentioned parents end up giving their children real bunnies for Easter. Rabbits are often cheap around Easter, with a lot of pet stores selling them for around ten dollars. (Source) Normally, I'd say it's a great idea to give these bunnies loving homes. But what often happens is parents buy bunnies for their kids and then eventually the families abandon these poor animals.

This is where my friends at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, come in. They are urging parents not to adopt bunnies for their kids at Easter unless the families have long-term plans to provide loving homes for the animals. Instead, Farm Sanctuary is urging parents to support an animal resident at Farm Sanctuary. As the Farm Sanctuary Website notes:

The animal residents at Farm Sanctuary’s shelters, many of whom were rescued after being given as “Easter gifts,” depend on adoptive “parents” to provide them with healthy food, a safe habitat, individualized attention and veterinary care. Through the nonprofit organization’s Adopt-A-Farm Animal Project, parents can help give rescued animals a new beginning and inspire compassion in their children by sponsoring an animal in the name of their child (or in their own name). Each unique sponsorship package includes a personalized adoption certificate and beautiful color photo that make the perfect addition to any Easter basket.

What a great idea. Let's hope that before rushing out and adopting a cute bunny or chick (back in 2007, Farm Sanctuary also adopted 49 baby chicks - dyed purple, blue, pink, orange and green - from a Brooklyn pet store), parents decide to sponsor a Farm Sanctuary resident. Also, the wonderful folks at RabbitRescue.ca here in Ontario have been working hard for years to find loving homes for rabbits and they feature sponsorships, too. Check out their Website here. Unless families plan a lifelong commitment to a new member of their family, sponsoring animals is a far more humane way to go.