Call for Adopters Follows Surrender of More Than 40 Rabbits from a Bristol County Property
BOSTON, April 16, 2025 – The MSPCA-Angell is calling for adopters following the surrender of 44 rabbits from a property in Bristol County, the organization announced today.
“Our Law Enforcement team seized the rabbits on February 12 because they were allegedly subjected to unsanitary conditions,” explained Vice President of the MSPCA-Angell’s Animal Protection Division, Mike Keiley.
Animal cruelty charges are pending against the rabbits’ former owner, who surrendered them on April 9. The MSPCA-Angell will announce updates on that case as they become available.
“Despite their previous situation, the rabbits are really sweet,” Keiley said. “We know that many people are thinking about bunnies given how close we are to Easter, so we’re putting out a call to them: If you’re considering adopting a rabbit, now’s the time, despite what some persistent internet myths may suggest.”
Removing the Stigma of Spring Rabbit Adoptions
According to Keiley, there are myths about rabbit adoptions around Easter that may negatively impact their chances at finding homes.
“There’s this misguided belief that people who want to adopt rabbits around Easter aren’t actually committed to caring for them and will just end up abandoning them outside or surrendering them to a shelter,” he said.
“People who are considering getting a rabbit often think about doing so now, just given the season, and there’s no shame in that,” he elaborated. “We want people to come in and adopt because they’ll still talk to an adoption counselor to see if a rabbit is a good fit for their family, and we don’t see them being surrendered at higher rates.”
“In our experience, the myths and the stigmas those create are actually more harmful to rabbits than anything about the time of year they’re adopted, just like black cat adoptions around Halloween.”
Adopt a Bunny!
The Bristol County rabbits range in age, with some as young as eight-weeks-old. They are mostly large breeds, including Californian, Chinchilla, and Rex rabbits.
“People often shy away from adopting larger breeds because they think they’ll be harder to hold and more difficult for kids to manage, but we often find that they’re more docile than some smaller breeds,” explained Keiley.
All of the Bristol County bunnies will need to be spayed or neutered before they will be ready to find new homes.
“Rabbits are great pets—they can be litter box trained and have a similar relationship with people as cats and dogs,” he added. “That includes how they share their home; they don’t need to be kept in cages all the time.”
The MSPCA-Angell asks that anyone interested in adopting a rabbit visit the following shelters during open hours, which vary by location:
Rabbits available for adoption are listed on the MSPCA-Angell’s adoptable animal page, here. More will be added as they become available.
