宠物兔:爱我 就请陪我到老

兔年临近，不仅兔子饰品大行其道，宠物兔也开始热销，活蹦乱跳的宠物兔一时间成为市民的新宠。但是希望这不是市民们一时冲动的热情，祝福每一只宠物兔兔都能都到主人一生的眷顾、每一位主人都是极富责任心和爱心的人。

According to some pet shops in Wuxi, southern China, an ordinary domestic rabbit costs about 10 to 20 yuan. And people who are willing to pay 150 or 700 yuan can bring a rare rabbit breed home.

"As to the ordinary rabbit, about 20 of them can be sold a day. And about six or seven expensive pet rabbits are sold each day in our shop."

Other stall owners in a pet market in Xi'an, the capital of the Shaanxi province, say, compared to the traditional pets such as dogs and cats, rabbits have become the most popular pet this year.

"We usually sell fish as pets, but recently in the run-up to the year of the rabbit, we started to sell rabbits, and the business is booming."

"Before the sales boom, one rabbit was sold in every two or three weeks. But when the year 2011 arrived, we started to sell about 4 or 5 rabbits a day."

But what's the reason behind the booming rabbit sales? Why do people want pet rabbits?

One customer who was selecting a rabbit in a pet shop said all three people in her family were born in years of the rabbit. Before the lunar new year of the rabbit arrives, she would buy a rabbit as a pet, which, she believes, will bring her family good luck.

It's said that people born in the Year of the Rabbit are talented, ambitious, trusted, reserved, and are often financially lucky. However, will they be responsible for their loved pet for the rest of its life?

Animal advocates urged pet owners to be more responsible. Although there are no official statistics on pet abandonment in the cities, Xi Yin, from Ruijia Animal Rescue Volunteer Group, says that animal carcasses are often found on highways.

Some people say feel sad for abandoned pets, when it rains they have no shelter. When they feel hungry they have no food. Especially in winter when there is the possibility that they could freeze to death. Sometimes they are beaten to death by people.

Chen Nan, a volunteer with Ruijia, says owners abandon their pets for various reasons. Some owners do not regard pets as part of the family, and they believe the pets could survive on their own. Others think pets are not clean enough to live in their new apartment, so they no longer want their pet.

Some people say anyone who gets a pet should be responsible for it during its whole life. And that you shouldn't abandon them after your initial passion for them fades.

While another citizen suggests the Government set up some pet orphanages to help stray abandoned pets. However, who knows if the orphanages will give those irresponsible pet owners another excuse to leave their pet behind.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.