Can You Bury A Rabbit In A Potted Plant? (With Alternatives)

It’s a sad thing.

You watched a cute rabbit die.

Maybe it was your pet, or perhaps it was a wild rabbit in your backyard.

Now, what should you do? Can you bury it in one of your potted plants?

You can bury a rabbit in a potted plant, but you need to place it in the bottom of the pot. You should not use a pot that you will grow herbs, fruits, or vegetables in. This is to protect you in case the rabbit had a disease.

In this post, I’ll help you figure out how to bury the rabbit in your potted plant. I will also let you know other options if you can’t bury it in a pot.

Let’s get started.

Bury the rabbit in a potted plant

If your pet rabbit dies, or if a wild rabbit dies on your property, there are a few things you can do about it. You should firstly consider burying your rabbit. You may have a spot in your backyard or front yard where you can bury it, or you may have potted plants. Decide on one of these areas and bury your rabbit.

If you have plants in pots or in your yard that are herbs, fruits, vegetables, or other foods, do not bury the rabbit there, especially a wild rabbit. Burying an animal is a natural fertilizer for the ground, but it can attract ants and other animals that you might not want by your herbs and food plants.

Also, a wild rabbit could have several different bacteria, germs, and possibly rabies. You do not want this to get into your plants and harm them, and you don’t want other animals digging up your plants to get to the rabbit, so bury it away from your herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

To bury a rabbit properly, you need to wrap it up in a biodegradable material like a newspaper. Then, use a shovel and dig a hole. The hole needs to be about 12-24 inches deep, and then you simply place the rabbit covered in either cardboard or newspaper in the hole and put the dirt over it.

If you are burying it in a potted plant, you should dig up the plant and take out the dirt and soil. Wrap the rabbit in a newspaper or cardboard material that will be biodegradable in the soil. Then, place the rabbit in the pot and repot your plant. Add in your dirt and soil, and place your plant in the pot.

If you find that the rabbit smells over the next week, you might want to consider re-burying it in a different location like the ground, where you can place it deeper in the ground so that the smell is not so strong.

Burying beloved pets in potted plants and in gardens has been around forever. It’s a beautiful way to give your pet new life in the form of a plant, but you should make sure you know what you’re getting into before doing it. On the one hand, the nutrients from your bunny’s body will help the plant grow better, and it’ll give you something to look at to remind you of your pet. The pot needs to be quite large. Bury your rabbit in at least 3′ feet of soil. This will prevent any dogs or cats you have from digging and unburying it. This is an absolute must if you keep the plant outside as critters will sense the bunny under the soil and dig around for it. – Zach from LoveFromOurBackYard 

Dispose of the rabbit in the trash

You can simply throw away a dead rabbit too. But before I add more details, you should understand this first, do not throw it away in your indoor trash cans like the one in your kitchen. Your trash will smell and make your home stink.

Instead, throw it away in a trash bin outside. You do not need the smell of a dead rabbit in your home, so keep it out where the fresh air can take it away. Then, when it is trash day, the city trash trucks will come by, and you can have the rabbit out of your hands.

To get rid of a dead rabbit through the trash, wrap up the rabbit. In the bury section, it is mentioned that you should wrap the rabbit in biodegradable material. But, for throwing the dead rabbit in the trash, you can use plastic bags. Wrap it up in a trash bag or old plastic grocery bags.

Wrapping the dead rabbit in plastic bags will help keep the smell minimal. Plus, if nearby critters can’t smell it then they can’t come for it. The last thing you want is for ants and animals like possums to go into your trash bins and try to find the rabbit. So using plastic bags can keep critters away and prevent those animals from entering your yard.

This method is simple, take the rabbit and wrap it in grocery bags or a trash bag, then walk it out to the trash bins so that the city trucks can pick up the rabbit and take it away.

Call local animal control 

Out of the two previous methods listed above, this one is the easiest. Calling local animal control requires you only to call them, and you let the workers deal with the rabbit. No burying, wrapping, or throwing away. Look up the number of your local animal control specialists and tell them the situation.

Whether your pet died or a wild rabbit died, call them if you choose so and tell them that you have a dead rabbit on your property that you would like for them to take care of. If they cannot take the rabbit off of your hands, then be sure to ask them what they recommend doing to get rid of it. They will likely tell you the options above, and they can walk you through what to do.

How to Be Safe

If you end up taking care of the dead rabbit by yourself, then take a few precautionary measures. Wear gloves when handling it, wrap it up and place it in a bag as soon as possible, do not touch it or any liquids that come out of it, and be sure to wash your hands before and after dealing with it.

You should deal with the rabbit within the same day it dies. Bury it or trash it as soon as possible to avoid getting yourself, animals, or any family or friends sick. Be gentle and careful when picking it up, and make sure that you wash your hand so that you can wash off any germs you possibly came in contact with. This can ensure your and others’ safety from illness.