Sponsor An Animal, Don’t Buy One
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They are cute and fuzzy and at first may seem like the perfect Easter gift for a child, but all too often the ducklings, chicks and bunnies that are cherished on Easter day end up abandoned and left to suffer alone when they grow up and the reality of their ongoing care sets in.
This spring, to help prevent the suffering of discarded animals and overcrowding at local shelters, Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, is encouraging parents to resist buying baby animals from pet stores and to help promote a new compassionate holiday tradition instead by sponsoring an animal in need.
Every spring, Farm Sanctuary’s bi-coastal shelters in upstate New York and Northern California experience a dramatic increase in the number of calls they receive about unwanted ducks, chickens and rabbits that were given to children as Easter gifts.
“These are living, feeling animals, not holiday trinkets, yet many people impulsively purchase them without considering whether or not they are fully prepared to take on the responsibility of an animal that will require daily care for many years to come,” said Farm Sanctuary’s National Shelter Director Susie Coston. “When that reality sets in, the animals that aren’t abandoned at shelters usually end up being dumped outdoors where they will most likely starve to death, or they are relegated to cramped backyard hutches and cages, where they will spend the remaining years of their life lonely and neglected. We urge parents to show their children that grown up animals deserve love too by sponsoring an animal in need for their children this Easter instead.”
The animal residents at Farm Sanctuary’s shelters, many of whom were rescued after being given as 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.
No I totally agree. Animals are not seasonal objects passed around like cheese and wine. Sadly it is usually the small cuddly animals like you have mentioned that get ignored after a week or two.
.-= Rob´s last blog ..Drunk Animal Pictures =-.
So sad… I know that even though it’s illegal, a lot of people are still selling dyed chicks and bunnies. It really gives people the impression that these beings are more “stuffed animal” than real ones. Thanks for the reminder about being thoughtful at Easter…
.-= Bea Elliott´s last blog ..Why I Don’t Drink Cow’s Milk or Eat Diary – Get Weaned – Go Vegan =-.