Best Bets for Easter Baskets? Think Twice About Baby Chicks, Ducks, Birds and Bunnies

Every year it’s the same warning: Those warm, fuzzy feelings you get for giving animals as Easter gifts too often turn cold as the reality of pet ownership takes hold.

And that’s a not a good thing for the chicks, ducklings, rabbits and birds that make their way into Easter baskets — nor for the kids and adults who handle pets that carry harmful bacteria.

Baby birds can both carry and spread a bacteria called salmonella, prompting the  Hillsborough County Health Department to report the following:

• Each spring there is a reported increase in salmonella. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment.” In some cases, the diarrhea might be so severe hospitalization is required.

• The infection can be worse for children, the elderly and people with immune-compromised symptoms.

• Exposure to the bacteria comes from holding, cuddling or kissing the birds and by contact with bird enclosures or environments. That’s because bacteria carried in the birds’ intestines contaminate their environment and the animal’s entire surface.

• Toddlers are most susceptible because they are more likely to put their fingers in their mouths.

Need more of a reason to substitute fake treats for live gifts in Easter baskets? Chocolate bunnies, jellybeans and baskets filled with candy will sound much better after consideration of these additional points from the health department:

• Children are not always dependable caretakers. (Nor some adults.) No wonder then that so many animals bought as pets each year are abandoned in parks and wildlife areas.

• The demand for baby animals from hatcheries and farms increases each spring. To meet that demand, baby birds — and especially chicks and ducklings — are hatched in large quantities and shipped nationwide, leading to stresses on the animals. Shipment in cramped quarters also makes animals more prone to illness and shedding salmonella.

Should you still be interested in buying live animals for gifts, remember to insist that after handling the animals, kids wash their hands thoroughly and avoid eating and drinking near the newly acquired pets.

Should you care to adopt a more traditional pet — a dog or a cat — the April 23 “Help Our Pets” (HOP) event at Hillsborough County Animal Services in Greater Brandon is something to keep in mind.

The pet adopt-a-thon and egg hunt is scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with the hunt starting at 11 a.m. Admission is free.

Special guests are “Red Ruff” and “Blue Mew” from PETCO and more than 30 rescue groups and shelter partners will be in attendance. Also: vendors, food, volunteer information, a bunny hop contest and “ask-the-vet” opportunities.

Hillsborough County Animal Services is at 440 Falkenburg Road in the Greater Brandon area of Tampa. Call: 813-744-5660.