Rabbits overrun animal shelter

A female bunny can have up to 200 offspring over her lifetime

Alan Campbell, Richmond News
Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The vision of fluffy big-eared bunnies overrunning a city may be a source of amusement for some.

But it's no laughing matter for the Richmond Animal Protection Society (RAPS), who, quite literally, have rabbits coming out of their ears -- and their hats.

RAPS is groaning under the weight and is struggling to cope with having to care for more than 40 unwanted or rescued rabbits. They're in the rabbitroom, the hallway, the kitchen, the laundry room, the lobby and in the yard.

Only last week, four more baby bunnies, bought recently at a local pet store, were handed into the shelter at the bottom of No.5 Road, south of Steveston Highway.

Many more are being brought into the society by people finding them in distress in local parks, where unwanted pet rabbits are frequently dumped and roam free to breed uncontrolled.

It's not the first time a call has been made for the city to take action against a spiraling population -- the last time being in the fall of 2006, when a cull was scheduled before disease took care of the problem first.

And, with Easter fast approaching (a time when many people buy bunnies as presents), RAPS is asking the city to consider creating a bylaw banning the sale of rabbits.

"It's out of control again, it really is," said Carol Reichert, RAPS Executive Director. "It will get even worse again if we don't do something about it very soon. A ban on the sale of rabbits in Richmond is a must.

"We don't know where to stack them any more. We've been talking to the city about this and they said they're looking into it."

The shocking case of a rabbit being blown up during a Halloween prank in 2007 last shed the spotlight on over- population of the animal.

This came after a rabbit problem in the spring of 2006 being so great that city council approved a cull.

An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 of them wreaked havoc on pumpkin crops in Richmond, causing tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. The cull was scheduled for the fall of 2006, but by that time, nature took care of the problem with disease and starvation.

Now the city is again turning its attention to Richmond's pesky rabbit spike, although it's not clear at this stage whether the move will include an outright ban on the sale of rabbits.

"The proliferation of rabbits and their abandonment in parks are concerns for the city," said spokeswoman Diana Waltmann.

"There has been some informal discussion between board members of RAPS and staff around various animal welfare issues, including rabbits.

"Bylaw staff is reviewing the Animal Control Bylaw and Section 12.8 of the Business Regulation Bylaw and expect to bring a report forward for council's consideration this spring with recommendations to potentially mitigate this problem."

The city advises residents, who are considering buying a rabbit as a pet, to be aware of the commitment required to care for one.

They have a life span of seven to 12 years and, if a female is not spayed, she has the potential of having 200 offspring during her lifetime.

"There are hundreds of them roaming around everywhere in the city and they're still pumping them out at pet stores for $20 or less," Reichert said.

"The stores make their money on all the stuff that goes along with rabbits, but most of the time it's an impulse buy and either we get left to carry the can or the animal gets dumped.

"Yes, we can look after them here, but it's a sad life. And it takes a lot of work cleaning out 40 cages every day, we're struggling to look after them."