Easter is just around the corner, and many parents are considering whether they should give their child a rabbit this Easter. The Animal Welfare Society in West Kennebunk urges parents to make this decision carefully.

Rabbits make wonderful companion animals, and certainly can add a lot of joy and happiness to a family that is ready to make the commitment to such a unique and interesting creature.

Rabbits are social animals that can live for more than 10 years. They prefer to live inside the home, where they can be part of the group. They need a large, solid-bottomed cage with a sleeping area, food area, and a litter box. That’s right, rabbits can be litter-box trained, particularly adult rabbits that have been spayed or neutered.

Rabbits need a consistent diet of fresh water, hay, rabbit

food and assorted fruits and veggies. It is also recommended that rabbits be allowed 30 hours of outside cage time per week. They spend this time exercising, exploring and taking leisurely naps by the window. Rabbits are similar to cats in their activity level – they spend a lot of time resting, followed by bursts of intense energy.

Although rabbits look very docile and cuddly, many of them prefer to not be cuddled too much. They would rather sit next to you, or lay in your lap. Rabbits are also easily scared and very sensitive to noise, so they usually do best in a quieter home.

If you decide that a rabbit sounds like it would be the perfect pet for you and your family, please consider adopting one from an animal shelter. This Animal Welfare Society has many wonderful rabbits waiting for a new home, and all of the rabbits adopted from AWS come spayed or neutered.

If you would like to view some of our available rabbits, please visit our Web site at www.animalwelfaresociety.org,

call us at 985-3244 or to the shelter to meet all of

the animals currently available for adoption. Our adoption center is open Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. We are closed on Wednesdays.

Gail Crowell, program coordinator

Animal Welfare Society

West Kennebunk