Bunny ranks thinned

Kelowna Daily Courier
Ron Seymour
2008-11-06

An estimated three-quarters of Kelowna‘s wild rabbits have been rounded up or killed since control measures started earlier this year.

A city-hired firm has exterminated about 400, and The Responsible Animal Care Society has trapped and is caring for about 350 rabbits.

Before the trapping and euthanization programs began in earnest, the rabbit population was estimated at about 1,000 animals.

“It does seem that there‘s been a significant reduction in the number of rabbits that are out there,” Ian Wilson, the city‘s pest control supervisor said Wednesday.

The firm contracted by the city, EBB Environmental Consulting, has not caught or killed any rabbits since a moratorium was imposed last month after one of its workers was observed stomping an animal to death.

However, it‘s expected EBB‘s round-up program will begin again within two weeks. After the rabbits are caught, they will be offered to animal protection groups.

The SPCA and the Vancouver-based Rabbit Advocacy Group have indicated they will be able to take small numbers of the rabbits, but TRACS is declining unless the group is compensated.

“We‘re already taking care of 350 rabbits that our own members have trapped,” said TRACS spokeswoman Sinnika Crosland.

“Our position is that we would look at taking some of the rabbits that EBB has collected, but we would expect to receive a service fee to help cover the animals‘ spaying or neutering and their feeding,” Crosland said.

The group has raised about $20,000 to cover costs of sterilizing and caring for the rabbits. Roughly half the animals have been sterilized so far.

Some of the younger rabbits may be offered as pets, but many of the older ones are too wild to be offered for adoption. Those animals will be kept in pens and allowed to live out the rest of their natural lives, Crosland said.

Meanwhile, she plans to launch a new website today, www.kelownaelection.com, which is designed in part to let voters know how the 36 candidates for city council would deal with the rabbit problem.

“This is a totally political endeavour, something I‘m doing myself as a private citizen, and not related to TRACS, which is a charitable society,” Crosland said.

At Monday‘s meeting, council gave preliminary approval to a new bylaw that would make it illegal for people to feed wild rabbits. It would also make property owners responsible for ensuring there are no wild rabbits on their land.

Fines would be set at $100, though, as with all bylaws, the city‘s aim is education, more than enforcement.

“It would probably only be repeat offenders, people who keep feeding the rabbits after they‘ve been warned once, who would be fined,” Wilson said.