Putting a live animal in your child’s Easter basket is a bad idea: instead, give one to charity.

Buying live animals for an Easter basket is cruel to the animals. Often, chicks, ducklings and even bunnies are dyed with colors that can irritate or damage their skin or eyes. And these animals are often abandoned after Easter. According to the Humane Society, “Every year, animal shelters receive a surge of unwanted Easter pets that are given up after the owners have lost interest or are unable to care for them. Unfortunately, many must be euthanized due to lack of available homes. Some animals given as gifts are released into the wild when people tire of them. However, the animals are unable to fend for themselves and usually die of starvation or exposure to the elements, or are preyed upon by other animals.”

There are also risks for humans associated with giving live chicks and ducklings. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported cases of Salmonella poisoning associated with live chicks. And though rabbits do not need vaccinations to be safely kept as pets, they do need lots of care.

There is a way to buy chicks, ducklings, and bunnies for Easter. Make a donation to Heifer International and they will provide these animals to poverty-stricken families around the world. Donate a Flock of Ducks for $20: they will provide eggs for a family to eat and sell, plus ducks eat bugs out of the fields and help the crops. Or for $20 you could also donate a Flock of Chicks: chickens can lay up to 200 eggs per year! A Trio of Rabbits ($60) will provide income for the family when they sell the bunnies (up to 40 per year.) Or you can actually get “baskets”: the $50 Basket of Hope which has rabbits and chickens, or the $85 Promise Basket which has chicks, ducks, rabbits, and geese.

Put a note in an Easter basket that you have made a donation in the child’s name to Heifer International along with a chocolate bunny and those Peeps-thingys. We think of Christmas as the season of giving, but charity is appropriate all year long.

(This article was posted on the front page of Helium!)