http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local.php?id=174929
TRACS clear for rabbit rescue
2009-03-27
Kelowna‘s remaining feral rabbits should be caged, sterilized and cared for, rather than killed, city council will hear Monday. Staff recommend an $11,550, one-year contract be awarded to The Society for Responsible Animal Care, a volunteer-group that‘s been highly critical of a city contractor‘s effort to kill hundreds of rabbits.
“This is wonderful news that has been a long time coming,” TRACS executive director Sinnika Crosland said Thursday. “I‘m really happy the city is giving us the chance to get involved in this way. There aren‘t many of the bunnies left now, but if we get this contract we‘ll do what we can to save them.”
The money can only be used for the “monitoring and control” of the rabbits, according to a city tendering document circulated to nine contractors and groups. TRACS was the only one to submit a proposal. What the condition means, in practise, is that TRACS can only use the money to sterilize any rabbits its volunteers are able to trap. The money cannot be used for the ongoing feeding of the animals. With sterilization costs of about $70 per animal, TRACS could use the $11,550 to neuter or spay about 165 rabbits. Estimates of the remaining wild rabbit population vary from two dozen to about 100. TRACS volunteers intend to trap the remaining animals, have vets sterilize them, then place them either in foster homes or in secure pens. To deal with the burgeoning population of wild rabbits last year, most of which were concentrated along Enterprise Way, the city awarded a contract to EBB Environmental Consulting. The company killed hundreds of rabbits, sparking protests from animal rights groups. Meanwhile, volunteers with TRACS were also out capturing rabbits, caging about 450 of them. The group raised about $30,000 in donations to help cover the cost of sterilizing the animals, and putting them in foster homes or pens. The contract to be considered Monday includes a provision that city staff be satisfied the rabbit problem is abating. If municipal officials believe the rabbit population is on the increase, the contract with TRACS could be cancelled.
If city council awards the one-year contract to TRACS, the group will appeal for more volunteers to help out with the caging of and caring for the rabbits, Crosland said.
“We‘ve had a consistent group of about eight volunteers, but with the weather improving and the nights getting longer, I hope the numbers will go up,” she said.
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http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-45938-1.htm#45938
TRACS lone bunny bidder
by Wayne Moore - Story: 45938
Mar 27, 2009 / 6:00 am
It seems persistence has paid off for The Responsible Animal Care Society (TRACS).
City Council is expected to award a rabbit maintenance contract to the Kelowna animal rights group when it meets Monday.
Parks Services Manager, Ian Wilson, says proposals were sent to nine proponents and only TRACS responded with a quote.
"The TRACS proposal was good and it met all of our criteria, so that is what we are recommending," says Wilson.
The contract with Delta based EBB Environmental Consulting expired earlier this month.
That contract was extended two weeks while the City looked for an organization to provide on-going maintenance and control of the remaining feral rabbit population.
Earlier this month, Wilson indicated no more than 100 rabbits remained, mostly along the Enterprise Way corridor.
He says that number has likely been reduced over the past few weeks through the work of EBB and TRACS.
TRACS bid $11,550 for the one year maintenance contract to capture, spay/neuter and find homes for the remaining feral rabbits.
Wilson says the remainder of the $20,000 budgeted for the project will go towards a public education plan.
The Community and Media Relations Department at City Hall are working on that plan.
Meantime, with Easter less than a month away, Wilson says he is concerned more "pet" rabbits could find themselves set free in the city.
"People buy these rabbits for pets at Easter and when they get them home, they are not quite the animal or the pet they expected, and unfortunately those animals sometimes get released or abandoned into the environment. I would urge people not to buy rabbits on impulse."
There is a bylaw in place now in Kelowna making it illegal for stores to sell rabbits that have not been spayed or neutered.