Payson Roundup Tacitly Endorses Rabbit Abuse!

The editors of the Payson Roundup must be in cahoots with bunny peddlers! They refused to publish this letter to the editor my mother-in-law and I co-wrote a few weeks ago.

Editor:

On the day after Thanksgiving I had an enjoyable evening with my husband, my children and my grandchildren walking around Swiss Village. We went into art and music shops, nibbled delicious cookies and sipped hot cocoa, listened to a country band play Christmas carols, and we even saw Santa. Thanks to all the people behind the scenes, merchants and city leaders, who make this wonderful annual event happen.

However, there was one attraction that night that did not attract me. In fact, it repulsed me. There was a small plastic pool filled with cold water. The water must have been very cold because the temperature that night was in the forties. In the water were glass bowls that floated. On the ground outside the pool, there were a bunch of rabbits huddled up together. The lady running the attraction handed out balls, for a small fee, to children, and the children tried to throw the balls into the bowls. If their ball landed in a bowl, guess what they got? A rabbit.

There are a few problems with this. First, the baby rabbits were cold. They got even colder when the frigid water splashed onto them. How do you think a grandmother like me feels when she sees cute animals being mistreated this way? How do you think the rabbits feel?

But perhaps worst of all is the very idea of “winning” a “free” rabbit and taking it home that night. Do you think these children were prepared to care for a rabbit? Do you think that the kids had the appropriate food, shelter, and equipment for owning a rabbit? Probably not.

So to whoever is in charge of organizing the Christmas activities, if you want to bring the rabbits back next year, that’s fine. But next time, put them in a warm display case or even in a humane petting zoo. Don’t keep them out in the cold, splash them with ice-cold water, and don’t dispense them as prizes to children who are unprepared to properly care for them.