Easter rabbits and sprogs

My aunt pointed this out today:
https://www.saltwire.com/halifax/lifestyles/return-of-the-easter-rabbit-most-bunnies-abandoned-six-to-eight-weeks-after-holiday-nova-scotia-rescue-owner-says-100956390/

The usual parents lets sprog have rabbit to shut it's trap, rabbit is in shelter a month down the road.
Also two rabbits were found on the side of the county highway not far from here and are "up for adoption" at the local shelter here. Same story every Easter

and the abandonment is ALMOST the better outcome! when I was about 7 -8 my neighbor kids got some of those terrible-idea- dyed chicks.I went over to see them and found out that the little boy had already killed one by trying to stuff it's head in a bottle!!! Even at my age I knew that this was terrible!

The article/video didn't load for me, but I think I get the gist of it based on the URL.

I wish animals couldn't be sold around the holidays, especially Easter when parents will buy their brats chicks and rabbits that get neglected or abandoned once the breeders realize these kinds of animals require much more effort than a dog or a cat. Yes they're very cute, but they're also a lot of work and neither rabbits nor chickens are tolerant of being manhandled by asshole kids. These animals can also be very destructive, especially when they are not provided with the things they need to thrive.

But people who breed rabbits or chickens who don't care what becomes of the animals will have no issues selling them to idiot parents who want to make their brats' Easter "magical." Anyone who actually gives a damn about the bunnies and chicks they breed would absolutely NOT sell them to people around Easter time because I guarantee a vast majority of the sales are going to be holiday-related. The parents who buy these animals also will have done no research beforehand because they think baby chickens and bunnies are just cute little toys that exist for their kids' amusement. Then when the chicks grow up and scratch/peck everything and the rabbits chew everything and poop everywhere, Moo and Duh will throw them outside because they're "just animals" and are inconvenient and no longer cute.

This is such a hot spot for me. I'm so disgusted that people think animals are nothing more than entertainment for their kids and once they're inconvenient and the novelty is worn of (which is pretty quickly in most cases), the poor animal is tossed out like some old used toy.

I've heard that breeders are supposed to be more empathetic, yet it seems that the only empathy most of them feel is towards their own replicants. Yuck.

They say that “Parenting makes you so empathetic” because they act like they are putting the needs of their offspring before their own, but they see their children as an extension of themselves so it’s hardly about the needs of others. Also, how often have we seen them use their children as an excuse to be selfish assholes? “I’m not doing it for me, I’m doing it for my child!” when said child is asleep in the stroller or otherwise totally disengaged with the situation.

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"Not every ejaculation deserves a name" - George Carlin

I totally agree and would like to add that a lot of breeders probably have to pretend to be extra empathetic and put their offspring first because if they didn't, a good chunk of 'em wound find themselves in jail for abuse and neglect.

I don't doubt for a second that there are humans who aren't like this at all, but unfortunately, there's a large enough portion of the population who absolutely have no empathy and they're not going to start magically growing a heart because they're capable of giving birth to someone.

This thing about not selling animals during holidays (which I fully agree with) should also apply to anyone who runs out and gets their kid an animal because they saw it in a Disney cartoon. I think they call it the "Nemo Effect" because they saw people buying these cute little fish for their kids after Finding Nemo came out and a large portion of those fish died due to neglect or got flushed.