‘Peter Rabbit’ Hype May Spell Trouble for Real Bunnies

For Immediate Release:
15 March 2018

Contact:
Olivia Jordan +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 229; [email protected]

‘PETER RABBIT’ HYPE MAY SPELL TROUBLE FOR REAL BUNNIES

PETA Urges Parents Not to Buy Rabbits – Who Require a Lifetime of Care, Patience, and Love and a Serious Financial Commitment – After Seeing Film

London – Just ahead of Peter Rabbit‘s release tomorrow, PETA is telling parents that the last thing they should do is rush out and buy their children – who are bound to be entranced by the lovable, cheeky bunny – a real-life version of Peter. The reason? People who are inspired to purchase animals by movies or television programmes often don’t realise how much work and commitment are required to care for them – and end up either ignoring their briefly cherished companions or abandoning them altogether.

“While a film lasts for only two hours, a bunny can live for more than 10 years ,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “A companion animal should never be an impulse buy, and PETA urges families always to adopt  and only to bring a rabbit into their homes after careful consideration of the animal’s lifetime needs.”

Rabbits are sensitive, fragile animals who require specific foods, stimulating environments with space to run and jump, and annual visits to veterinarians who have specialised knowledge of the species. Those purchased on a whim are frequently neglected, relegated to outdoor hutches, dumped at animal shelters, or simply turned loose in the wild, where they have little chance of surviving, once the novelty has worn off and the responsibilities of caring for them have kicked in.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – notes that sales of clownfish soared after the release of Finding Nemo and that a record number of huskies, who resemble the “direwolves” from Game of Thrones, have been abandoned as the popularity of the show grows.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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