Many readers of our website may have noticed that we have recently been recalling our Zoo’s past more often than usual. The reason is that we celebrate our 160th anniversary this year. Although the actual birthday is in August, the entire year of 2026 has been declared an anniversary year.
With Easter approaching, it is timely to revisit the history of rabbit welfare at our Zoo. The tradition of families buying live rabbits around Easter—mainly for children—goes back more than 70 years in Hungary. For a long time, however, little attention was paid to the animal welfare aspects and what this meant for the rabbits. Our Zoo was among the first to highlight, in the early 1990s, that buying rabbits for Easter requires careful consideration, as animals purchased on impulse may face an uncertain future once the initial enthusiasm fades. This was an important message at a time when there was no animal protection law in place and responsible pet ownership was rarely discussed.
Since then, we have reminded visitors every year that only those who can commit to the lifestyle changes involved and provide proper care for up to 8–10 years should keep rabbits. For those who decide otherwise after careful consideration, we suggest alternative options, such as symbolic adoption of a European rabbit through the Zoo Foundation.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, our rabbit welfare efforts also included taking in a limited number of rabbits after Easter. While this initiative was helpful at first, over time we found that more and more rabbits were brought in by people who had already planned to give them up after a few weeks. This approach does not align with responsible animal care, and we did not wish to encourage it. Therefore, we gradually discontinued the intake of rabbits, and since 2008—now 18 years—we have not accepted rabbits.
It is also worth noting that several former staff members and leaders of our Zoo were recognized experts in rabbits. Among them, Csaba Anghi, Sándor Holdas, and László Csíkváry made significant contributions to rabbit breeding and authored numerous articles, textbooks, and manuals on the subject.
