`::::All this talk of political correctness and  being dispassionate aside, the male pronoun is preferred over ``it`` when speaking of living creatures as opposed to inanimate objects.  Perhaps this is not universally accepted, but nothing is.  It is, however, overwhelmingly accepted as a feature of the English language.  Rabbits aren't ``its,`` they are Hes and shes.  The standard English pronoun usage rules must prevail in this as in all other English language wikipedia entries.  Gender neutral pronouns removed.    `