Rabbit Advocacy Animal Matters

 

April 2005, Surrey: A family moving from a rental home slated for demolition left their five “pet” rabbits behind.  A concerned neighbour said multiple litters had been born over a couple of years and most had been killed by predators.  She warned us that somebody was shooting a pellet gun at them and that the neighbourhood wasn’t safe.  The SPCA had also been called on numerous occasions regarding the neglect and illegal abandonment of the rabbits but never came out to help.

When we got there we saw three of the rabbits in her front yard but as soon as we stopped the car they bolted into the bushes.  We then went to see where the rabbits had been kept and it was a tiny dilapidated hutch at the back of the property.  The whole place was a run-down mess and the lane was strewn with hazardous waste materials.  Most homes had a “Beware of Dog” sign on their gate.

Over the course of time only one rabbit was caught and the woman who reported them to us said the others just disappeared, perhaps taken by a coyote or dog.  We named our little rescue Walley.  He was a quiet little fellow, blind in one eye, and quite sick.  Sadly, he couldn’t be saved and died one morning not long after joining us.

   

        

August 28, 2012 The cruelty of trying to make a domestic animal wild

December 2012 Earlier this year we participated in the relocation of some rabbits at Colony Farm Regional Park and across the road at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital. We had them spayed and neutered before bringing them to their new home, courtesy of a landowner who was happy to have them. The less 'feral' pair live mainly in the back garden where they enjoy the good life.   

   

April 21, 2013 Unfortunately, last year, not all rabbits were rounded up at the hospital and while we had only seen two to four adults on previous occasions or none at all, today three babies were spotted on the lawn. Rabbits have been on the grounds for years.

July 26, 2016 100 bunnies found dead or injured, some with missing ears, on the side of a Utah road in the middle of nowhere

Read more: Nanaimo feral domestic rabbits abound, gov't "experts;" VIU study; Sidney & Saanich issues; breeder busted