St. John's-area pet shops are being encouraged to halt the sale of rabbits as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals pleads with parents to find other gifts for Easter.

Susan Deir, who manages the SPCA shelter in St. John's, is hoping pet stores will stop the sale of rabbits as pets.

A Petcetera franchise in St. John's has already stopped the sale of kittens, and Deir hopes it will follow suit with rabbits — a popular gift at Easter and a popular donation to animal shelters in the days thereafter.

Deir said parents should look at alternatives as gifts.

"Last year, we had nine rabbits come in. This year, we've already had three or four come in," she said.

"Most of them had been purchased at pet stores, and people realize how much work they really are, and then don't want them anymore. The pet stores of course won't take them back, they can't find homes for them, so they bring them here to the shelter."

Deir said many pet rabbits in Newfoundland and Labrador homes come from backyard breeders and not from pet shops.

Vancouver-based Petcetera announced last week it is not selling rabbits in its Lower Mainland stores and may expand the ban to other cities.