Jo-Anne Barclay calls it "the Easter dump" and it happens every year around June or early July.
All those bunny rabbits that people thought it would be cute to buy for their children at Easter end up being dropped off at places like her Running Rabbit Farm rabbit rescue sanctuary, humane societies, being sold on Kijiji or just released into the wild.
"They get bigger, they're not as cute, people realize how much work it is and they get bored of them. It's hard to say how many we'll get, but it goes up every year," Barclay says.
Last year they had to turn away over 20 rabbits because they didn't have room.
"We dread the dump that starts in about three months. It happens every year. People see them in pet shops when the rabbits are really cute and really young, but they don't realize how much work is involved in taking care of them"
Barclay, known to many as "The Bunny Lady," has been running the rescue as a charitable organization for about six years.
A vet's assistant at a Cambridge veterinary clinic, she receives some donations to help run the labour of love but figures she's put around $30,000 of her own money into it over those six years.
Running Rabbit fosters and adopts out rabbits when it can. Many stay with Barclay on her rural property. She stopped giving out the address publicly because people would dump rabbits on her doorstep at night.
Michelle Anderson-Cameron of the Guelph Humane Society says that unwanted post-Easter rabbits has always been a problem, but it seems to be getting better.
"We do have a lot dropped off over the years, but we've seen a decrease," Anderson-Cameron said. "I think the public is getting more educated. Rabbits are a big commitment. They have a big personality," she said.
An international movement called "Make Mine Chocolate" urges people to choose chocolate rabbits over real ones at Easter.
Barclay was working in a pet shop 20 years ago when she took home her first unwanted rabbit. One became two and so on ... and so on.
She cautions that rabbits are not the best children's pets. They have frail bones and have to be handled very carefully. Some bite.
"Kids like to pick up animals and carry them around. Rabbits are prey animals, they like to be on the ground."
Because of the strength in their back legs, they can sometimes dislocate their hips or break their backs kicking out to get away from someone handling them.
"We keep looking for quality foster homes, but it's not always easy. They're a great pet, as long as you know what's involved," Barclay said.
For more information go to www.runningrabbitfarm.com.
