A PET shop with stores in North Yorkshire says it will stop selling rabbits this Easter.

Pets at Home, which has a store in Foss Islands Road, York, and more than 400 around the country, will not allow rabbits to be sold between Good Friday and Easter Monday, in an effort to teach children about the importance of responsible pet ownership.

Each year, customer interest in rabbits increases at Easter due to the holiday’s connection with the Easter Bunny, and the shops will also host free rabbit workshops - on feeding and caring for rabbits - over the Easter weekend. Peter Pritchard from Pets at Home, said: “We pride ourselves on putting pets before profit so we’ve taken the decision not to sell rabbits during the upcoming Easter weekend. Nor will customers be able to adopt rabbits in need of rehoming from our in store adoption centres.” The workshops are part of My Pet Pals club during the Easter weekend at petsathome.com/workshops