With the Easter bunny not being able to visit each home this year, staff at an animal rescue centre have shared sweet photos of a new litter of bunnies to lift everyone’s spirits.

A team of animal rescuers at RSPCA Taylor’s Rehomoing Centre has been caring for a litter of rabbits since their birth at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown and have shared a series of photos showing how they have grown.

Through these challenging times, it’s important that everyone tries to stay positive, which is why the staff at the Dorset centre wanted to share these uplifting pictures of bunnies this Easter.

Centre manager Tessa Every said: “We hope these pictures of blossom and her babies will make people smile at this difficult time.

“Blossom was collected from someone who was not coping with the rabbits that she had taken on from a friend. She came to us with her sister Bramble, both around five to six months old.

“When they checked, the vet thought she could feel a pregnancy, so we had Blossom scanned and 20 days after she came into us, she gave birth to five young.

“We didn’t disturb the nest for the first week as this can make the mum reject the babies. Since they were a week old, we have been handling and weighing them to check that they are okay and gaining weight as well as getting them used to being around people. At 12 days their eyes started to open and now they are all moving around and even starting to eat dandelions.

“We hope people have enjoyed seeing Blossom and her babies as much as we’ve enjoyed caring for them but urge anyone considering getting rabbits in the future to take some time to think about whether they can provide the time, space, care and attention rabbits really need as they can be complex animals who are challenging to care for. We also advice that people neuter their rabbits to prevent the risk of unwanted litters and reduce the risk of tumours in females.”

The typical image of the Easter bunny means that rabbits are more popular at this time of year and parents have found themselves buying a rabbit on impulse due to a little pester power from their children.

Despite rabbits often being perceived as an ideal ‘starter pet’ for young children, they actually have very complex needs and are one of the most neglected pets in Britain, with thousands of calls made to the RSPCA each year about their welfare.

It’s not just Blossom and her babies keeping the animal caring key workers busy at the rescue centre, in total the small team is caring for 30 cats, 22 rabbits, nine Guinea pigs, four mice, two ducks, two chinchillas and one hamster.

Recent arrivals include a cat named Lucky and a box filled with seven Guinea pigs, who were abandoned by their previous owners.

Anyone missing the Easter bunny this year has the chance to meet Blossom and her friends on the RSPCA branch’s Facebook page and enjoy her daily video updates.

There are still lots of ways local people can help the RSPCA West Dorset branch, which is a separately registered charity.

These include joining the Friends of Taylor’s Rehoming Centre, fundraising by holding an online event or joining the rescue centre’s digital pet show, or by sharing details of animals looking who’ll be looking for homes in the future when the Government restrictions allow the centre to reopen from westdorsetrspca.org on social media.