Pets at Home bans rabbit sales over Easter

Pets at Home has temporarily banned the sale of rabbits over Easter to stop 'impulsive' purchases of bunnies driven by the holiday period.

The sale and adoption of the furry animals will be paused across the pet shop chain's 457 stores nationwide over the Easter weekend, from 29th March to 1st April.

The chain warned that rabbits have 'complex needs' and 'careful reflection' is needed before customers jump into purchasing the popular pet.

Rabbits are thought to be a symbol of fertility of springtime, with its origins as the motif for Easter going back to an Anglo-Saxon deity named Ēostre, who was accompanied by a rabbit.