SEATTLE -- The controversial bunny round-up at Green Lake has turned deadly for more than a dozen of the little critters.

KIRO Team 7 Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne uncovers how disease, stress and poor living conditions might be to blame.

The City of Seattle recently helped capture about 100 rabbits from the burrows around Green Lake. The plan was to sterilize them, then let the bunnies go into some sort of wild sanctuary.

However, an exclusive KIRO Team 7 Investigation discovers a good percentage of the animals didn't survive under the city's care.

Happy rabbits, paling around, with lots of fresh food and clean sawdust: This is the image Seattle Parks and the non-profit group Friends of Park Rabbits want you to see.

Dead rabbits and tax bills for "group cremation" of rabbits are things they would rather be kept quiet.

Herb Camet, who volunteered at the Discovery Park rabbit shelter in February, tells us he’s disappointed that after six months of animals in captivity, the city has still not released a single rabbit.

"It's not ethical. Not an ethical way to operate."

Camet filed a complaint about an infestation of rats, and a lack of bedding, heat, and medical attention for the rabbits he witnessed.

"Rabbits have definitely been killed. The only question is how many can we actually trace and find in the record, but rabbits have died there. They died from viruses. They died from the stress. They died from the conditions."

Despite documenting a "DOA rabbit in a box" and some broken heaters during extremely cold weather, city inspectors found no animal violations. Camet's complaint case was closed.

That's when the real trouble began. KIRO Team 7 Investigators have confirmed that a "hepatitis-like pathogen" spread rapidly through a building in March, sickening at least 19 rabbits, killing 11.

Seattle City Parks employee Barb DeCaro, who is in charge of rabbit relocation says it's a sad situation.

"It's not uncommon for rabbits to become very stressed out and succumb to all sorts of things, including sudden heart failure. This seems that it was some kind of pathogen. I don't know," DeCaro said.

A vet bill, turned in for one month’s rabbit services, lists necropsies performed on dead park rabbits and charges to taxpayers for several bulk cremations of bunnies. Still, the city plans to expand the rabbit round-ups to other city parks in the future.

DeCaro told KIRO Team 7 Investigators, "I think the program overall has gone very well. It is a good model of humane relocation."

Records, obtained by Camet (and shared with us) show the rabbit death toll may go beyond the mysterious virus kill. Seattle police noted "two newborn rabbits are now dead" following a scuffle at the shelter between a volunteer and a citizen trying to take pictures. We also uncovered a "dead rabbit" photo linked to an official investigation into conditions at the Discovery Park rabbit shelter.

All of it is sickening to Camet.

"In the process of doing this mismanaged and ill-planned project, it has killed rabbits or injured rabbits or abused rabbits. What kind of city project funds this?"

Defaced flier asking for volunteers for the Woodland Park Rabbit Rescue

Seattle parks officials tell KIRO Team 7 Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne that within weeks, they will be moving the rabbits. In the meantime, city e-mails indicate security has been stepped up. "Baby killer" markings have been written on a number of Rabbit Relocation flyers around Green Lake. The city has also noticed bloggers on the Animal Liberation Front Web site have been talking about this program, raising additional fears.

We have also uncovered e-mails between City Parks and public relations employees that show a plan to mislead the public via the media regarding the success of the Friends of the Park Rabbits project.