Weird Conflicting Feelings

[MomBoss]

Daycare parent at drop off tells me a neighbor trapped/caught a baby wild bunny and gave it to them, a cage and rabbit food. And it escaped during the night and is somewhere in the house. I was thinking maybe they thought the rabbit needs help as a baby , so i told her that if they find a baby out of the nest, its most likely old enough to survive on its own and to find a wooded area to release it. The parent said something about how their daughter wanted a baby bunny and watch it get big.
i was totally taken aback and said to the child “ooo hunny, wild bunnies arent the same thing”
i am a big rabbit advocate and try to educate people on proper rabbit care- which is a very misinformed topic. Not to mention, keeping a wild rabbit is illegal. Wild rabbits get stressed easily and tend to die in captivity. Which is why it is illegal to own since its inhumane to keep it stressed like that.
the advocate in me wants to tell this parent that its illegal, the rabbit will most likely die because of its finicky diet and stress in a cage and it needs to be let free. But im also thinking its none of my business. But if this baby bunny dies I will feel horrible.

[e.j.]

If it were me, I would let the parent know it's illegal and explain the other negatives of keeping a wild bunny in captivity. They'll do what they want in the end but you can at least feel better knowing you tried to educate them for the bunny's sake.

[Michael]

I didn't know that about wild rabbits not being good pets. I think I would tell the parent that the best thing to do, once the baby rabbit is caught, is release it back into the wild. Her daughter can always leave out carrots or food of it. I would explain why wild rabbits have a hard time living in domesticated places. The mother can always get a pet rabbit from a pet store and watch it grow.

[FlyingJewels]

Them thinking it’s okay is due to their lack of knowledge on this matter. So I would absolutely educated them on it and see if it helps them. The kicker you should really drill in is it will die. They don’t want their kid getting attached to it and then it dying, that could be traumatic.

[FlyingJewels]

Also tell her that rabbits are not cuddly animals most of the time. Especially wild ones. But people get them thinking they will be calm and can be held. I have one bunny that is sweet and calm and I’m thinking of making a therapy bunny. He is like a unicorn though. He’s great with my daughters and you can hold him and really do anything with him. Not that we do at all, just saying. But most of mine have always been sweet but don’t like to be held. They aren’t cuddly. People are usually surprised when they learn that. Also I hope they don’t have that poor bunny in a tiny cage. Bunnies don’t belong in cages.