A local animal rescue centre is raising concerns about people buying rabbits as pets for Easter.

Animals In Distress, at Ipplepen, says buyers often fail to understand the welfare needs of rabbits, or what's involved in looking after them.

Every year 67,000 rabbits are handed into animal rescue centres in the UK, and the main reason people give them up is because they didn't know what they were taking on when they bought them.

Animals in Distress are urging people who want a rabbit for Easter to 'make it a chocolate one' – not a living creature with complicated needs.

A spokesperson for the charity said: "A real rabbit is a highly social animal with complex care needs - and an 8-12 year commitment which may cost you £11,000 in its lifetime – and it's not the easy pet for children that you might expect.

"If you are considering getting rabbits as pets, it's vitally important to research them thoroughly first."

The guidance from Animals In Distress is:

• Rabbits need to live with other rabbits and should never be kept alone

• They need spacious living accommodation and access to a large running area to meet their welfare needs; a hutch is not enough

• If not given the correct diet rabbits can get very sick and die. The wrong diet can also cause severe dental problems – leading to many visits to the vet

• They need frequent grooming and cleaning out to avoid flystrike and other potentially fatal issues

• Rabbits are not the easy pets for children that you might expect. In general they don't like being picked up and cuddled – they have sharp teeth and claws and powerful back legs and can bite and scratch when handled incorrectly – children often lose interest when they discover rabbits are not the cuddly pets they expected.

You can find out more about rabbit welfare and care on the Animals In Distress website.