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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

After Easter: Hard Times for Bunnies and Chicks

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Tuesday, April 22, 2014   

HARTFORD, Conn. - Every year around Easter, animal experts stress that bringing any animal into the home should be a well-thought-out decision and not just a holiday whim. Yet parents still give kids live bunnies or baby chicks, often with their feathers dyed in colors. Brian Shapiro of the Humane Society says that with the right nutrition, housing, and exercise, rabbits can make great pets, but they are a long-term family commitment, a fact that often sinks in too late.

"Many people will abandon animals to the wild, thinking that the bunny rabbit will somehow survive," he warned. "They are not made to survive in the wild. These are bunny rabbits, not wild hares."

He says rabbits are the third-most-surrendered animals to shelters nationwide. However, baby chicks, which grow into chickens and roosters, are a bigger problem. Shelters are crowded with them. An alternative - if an unlikely one - would be to find a farm willing to take them in.

Shapiro says baby chicks are especially vulnerable and easily harmed. He says they should never be given as Easter gifts.

"There really is no good solution to finding a new home for such an animal," he stressed. "Many of the animal sanctuaries are saturated with chickens and with roosters."

He adds that when it comes to rabbits, it's important to know they can live upwards of 10 years. He says it is not realistic to expect a child younger than 12 to be the primary caretaker of any animal, so parents need to accept that the responsibility may fall on them for many years.





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