By NINA MALKIN Most folks associate Easter with egg hunts, baked ham and spring flowers. But Judith Pierce and Patricia Mulcahy cannot help but view the coming season with trepidation. Co-managers of the House Rabbit Society’s (www.rabbit.org) San Diego chapter, Judith and Patricia are all too aware of how hard the holiday is on their favorite furry creatures. “Easter bunnies are often taken from their mothers at a few weeks old, when they should still be nursing,” says Judith, 61. “A startling number die in a matter of days.” Those that live may also face a tragic fate. Rabbits are the third most relinquished animals in the country—and too many people don’t even bother bringing the unwanted animals to a shelter. “By summertime, the dumping begins, with rabbits being dropped into vacant lots, golf courses—just thrown out the door and onto the street,” says Patricia, 64, pointing out that that domesticated rabbits have little chance of surviving in the wild.
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