PETS at Home has issued a temporary nationwide ban on rabbit sale over Easter weekend because of animal welfare concerns.
Bosses announced it won't be selling rabbits during the holiday in any of its 460 UK stores.
Like spur-of-the-moment dog purchases at Christmas, rabbits are often bought over Easter without proper consideration of the required care. This leads to an influx of abandoned animals at rescue shelters.
Animal rights organisation PETA UK (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) previously estimated that 80% of rabbits acquired around Easter are either abandoned or die within a year.
For several years, Pets at Home has stopped customers from claiming rabbits over Easter.
A spokesperson said: "Every year, we make the decision to temporarily halt rabbit sales over the Easter weekend. This is a deliberate action to discourage any impulsive choices about owning a rabbit, given their close association with this time of year.
"Rabbits make wonderful pets, however, they are not the 'easy' pet that they can often be thought of as.
"Rabbits have complex needs, including specialised dietary requirements and environments, and we always want to educate and encourage careful reflection on how those needs will be met before homing."
Pets at Home shared what the sign says online before the ban is enforced.
It reads: "Owning a rabbit can be very rewarding and enjoyable. It's also a long-term commitment that you need to make sure you're ready for. We pride ourselves on putting pets before profit, so we've made the decision not to sell or adopt rabbits over the Easter weekend (April 18 to 21)."
A spokesperson for PETA UK said: “Weeks or sometimes mere days later, they're discarded like unwanted Easter egg packaging – a staggering four out of five rabbits bought around Easter are abandoned or die within a year.”
Currently, anyone is legally allowed to start breeding and selling rabbits, which the charity has claimed results in “uneducated and inexperienced rabbit owners having multiple litters that they can’t look after or sell on to responsible pet owners”.
They have called for a breeding amnesty to tackle the unregulated industry.
