Bunnies can make superb pets, especially for families with small children in them. Unfortunately, this makes it extremely sad when the time comes for your bunnies to leave you. When that happens, it will then become time to decide where and how to dispose of the body(s).
When disposing of a pet bunny’s body, great care must be taken. The bunny must be picked up, taken to the vet for examination, wrapped in cloth, placed in a casket of some kind, and buried. It is also possible to have the bunny cremated or disposed of with your local garbage pickup service.
The steps in disposing of a pet bunny are pretty straightforward, which means you won’t have to deal with any sort of confusion and stress which only adds sorrow to a difficult time. Once your bunny has passed, it’s important to get on the process of disposal as soon as possible, let’s not waste time.
Steps of Disposal
Let’s talk about these simple steps in disposing of your pet bunny. You could just call the vet and have them come get it, but if you’re like most people, you probably want to take a more careful and personal approach. Here’s what you do:
Step 1: Moving the Body and Determining Death
First, you need to determine whether the bunny is, in fact, dead. If you are the owner of a very large or very old rabbit, they might not be as active as they used to be. Check your rabbit’s pulse and breathing and look for signs of defecation (emptied bowels). If you can’t find breath or a pulse and there are sure signs of defecation, that probably means the bunny has passed.
When moving your bunny’s body, you need to be extra careful. Dead bunnies can spread bacteria and diseases (most commonly a disease called Tularemia) that should be avoided at all costs. Cover your mouth and nose and use either gloves or a shovel to move the rabbit’s body.
Step 2: Veterinary Examination
Next, if you’d like, take the body to a veterinarian. They will be able to examine the body and help you to determine the cause of death. It’s likely your bunny will have just died of old age and there may not be any signs to tell. You can examine the body yourself if you want, but again, be extremely cautious.
Step 3: Burial Arrangements
Now you need to make arrangements for disposal. You might invest in a pet casket bought off Amazon and arrange for your pet to be buried in your yard or a pet cemetery. The easiest way to determine a meaningful (and legal!) form of burial is to consult with your vet and listen to their advice.
Step 4: Burial Preparations
Once a form of burial has been decided, you’ll need to prep the body. Wrap the bunny carefully in cloth and place them in a container (such as a casket or plastic bin). You’ll want to make sure they are securely covered so other animals don’t dig up the body and try to eat it. Plus, it’ll help contain any odors.
Step 5: Funeral Services
Setting up a memorial for your bunny can be hard and painful, but it’s also nice to have something to remember them by. Bury your bunny’s body and hold a little mini funeral service for them. This will help you get the feeling that your pet has been respectfully and rightfully disposed of.
Alternatives to Burial
Now, we’ve been talking a lot about burial. Burial might not be exactly what you’re looking for when you go to dispose of your pet bunny. Never fear, there are a couple of other options that might suit you better. Here are a few alternatives to burial that you could consider.
Trash
Sometimes the trash can is convenient and it just makes more sense to let the garbageman deal with it for you. If you spot a dead bunny in your bunny coop (and this works for wild bunnies as well), pick it up with a shovel and/or gloves, and double bag it with trash bags. Before you do this, however, you need to make sure that it’s legal because some areas don’t permit this kind of disposal!
Just throwing the body away is pretty easy, but a lot of people would prefer a more personal means of disposal which is just fine. Though, keep in mind, that you could still set up a memorial for your bunny, even if you disposed of the body via the garbage.
Cremation
Cremation is a vastly popular option for pets of all kinds. It can be somewhat pricey, but it’s a clean, safe, and easy way to both dispose of remains while still preserving the memory of your pet. There are crematoriums everywhere that offer a variety of services. Try calling one of them and seeing what your options are.
Once cremated, a bunny’s body can be placed in an urn and given to you for safekeeping. You can keep it at home or bury it in a special place in your yard, or sprinkle the ashes in a meaningful place for you. Regardless of what you do with the ashes, cremation is always a popular option.
It does take a chunk of change, mind you. Cremation can cost anywhere from $50 to $150 or higher. While that may not seem like all that much, it might be difficult to dedicate that sum of money to a cremation. However, if you have the money for it, it might not be a bad idea. It might be somewhat costly, but in truth, it can save you a lot of trouble and headache.
Veterinary Disposal
Finally, we arrive at the easiest option of all. Sometimes it feels too difficult and painful to dispose of a pet bunny yourself. This is where your vet comes in. Most vets, (even if they didn’t put the animal down themselves), can and will dispose of a dead pet for you. If you’d like to get the disposal over with as soon as possible, then call your vet. They will know what to do.
