Kelowna Capital News
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Animal rights group awarded rabbit control contract
By Jennifer Smith - Kelowna Capital News
Published: March 31, 2009 10:00 PM
Updated: March 31, 2009 11:02 PM
There will be no rabbit foot cash-in for Kelowna area contractors.
An animal rights group has, at long last, secured the right to save the city's rabbits-whether it proves a lucky break for the city or not.
Monday afternoon, city council discovered they had little option but to award The Responsible Animal Care Society an $11,550 contract to control Kelowna's rabbit populations.
The group will trap, spay/neuter and find new homes for the creatures as none of the eight other contractors contracted for the job would venture so much as a bid. The debate suggested several councillors are leery.
"I want this system to work and not just be a little budget that leads into a bigger budget," said Coun. Robert Hobson, who questioned whether TRACS would be back if the population began to bloom.
Hobson said he had concerns about the rabbits getting loose once more if billeted to private citizen's homes.
Coun. Graeme James took it one step further.
"I sympathize with you, I know you'd like to see this go away," James said to Ian Wilson, the city staff member who's handled the rabbits on behalf of the municipality. "I see this becoming a real problem in the future."
James said he has read letters in the past from TRACS requesting the city provide them with land for their operation and wanted assurances the non profit community group was capable of keeping the population at bay.
"Was there a reason nobody else bid on the contract?" asked Coun. André Blanleil, though he didn't manage to ferret out an answer.
The last contractor, EBB Consulting, is still willing to handle the city's goose egg addling program, but didn't bother to bid for the bunnies this time around.
The company had received threats during the course of the rabbit cull, and although the source of those threats was never identified, the company initially held off its work because of the messages.
Coun. Charlie Hodge has requested that the public not take their anger over the issue out on the company or city staff in recent meetings, but appeared all ears when it came to listening to TRACS' side of the story.
During a Monday morning presentation on the rabbit situation held in January, Hodge suggested he was not happy with the city's handling of the issue and wanted to see the council work with the community to find a solution everyone could live with.
On Monday, he and Mayor Sharon Shepherd cautioned fellow councillors that even if TRACS fails in this attempt to control the population without killing rabbits, they will hardly be the ones to blame.
Shepherd pointed to advertisements in the newspaper for pet rabbits, suggesting they're still being sold without being spayed or neutered.
A contingency plan is written into TRACS' contract saying the city can pull out of the arrangement at any time should the population escalate.
Hodge noted it may not be that easy to find the rabbits, let alone trap them, so city councillors might consider hastening to place blame.