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Animal rights group Peta wants to adopt the bronze rabbit once it is removed from a statue of former president Nelson Mandela.
Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile says the group intends to use the miniature statue to highlight the plight of billions of rabbits and other animals who are slaughtered for their skins, used in forced labour or kept in chains.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote to Mashatile asking that the rabbit be donated to the group.
Earlier this week, the sculptors of the newly erected statue of Mandela at the Union Buildings in Pretoria apologised for secretly adding a rabbit to their work.
The item, which is the group's creative signature, was placed in the ear of the statue and is barely visible to the naked eye.
