Dear fellow animal lovers,  its that time of the year again.  Easter egg hunts are waiting to happen and there is nothing nicer than seeing the pure joy when a child 'finds an easter egg'.  We all know that their excitement wanes as the eggs have been consumed and the day has moved on.  This is the same for when they 'find' a real Easter Bunny in the garden. 

Easter is upon us and many people have the urge to suddenly give little bunnies, chickens and even ducklings as gifts to their children, especially for Easter.

Why is this not a good idea to give pets as gifts?

1. While these little creatures are cute and fuzzy when they are young, they become a commitment of a lifetime.  Their lifetime, which could be anything from 5 to 12 years.
2. Most of the time these animals end up being neglected or if they are 'lucky' they land up in a noisy, busy, overcrowded shelter.
3. Does your neighbourhood allow for these types of pets to be kept?
4. Does your home provide adequate shelter and entertainment for these animals?
5. Often these animals are sold before they are ready to leave their mother, at a too young age, to keep up with the Easter Sales demand.  This results in the animals becoming weak and ill, and if they are lucky they will be taken to the vet and you are expected to pay a large amount of money to get them back to health again.

1. The best thing to do for your children for Easter is :
   1. Teach your children to love and respect animals.
   2. Take them to a shelter for a day and let them play and love those animals. Animals dont know public holidays, so they will be happy with a visit! ;)
   3. Tell them how hard it is to have a puppy or a kitten and that older pets are much easier and fun to ADOPT.
   4. Buy them books or soft toys instead of real animals.

We are by no means saying that you should not get your family a pet, but we ask that you please do not buy animals without a proper family meeting, with a sound discussion of responsibilities and tasks for all.

The irony is that most of our readers, if not all of us who read this, know these facts.  So we ask you to please either discuss (educate) this article with a few friends, or share this message with your friends wherever you can.   The role of an animal lover is not only to love, but its up to us to educate and teach compassion as far and as wide as we can.  Thanking you in advance for helping us to share this very important message.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter filled with love.