Kelowna Capitla News
May 20, 2008

Dear Mayor and Council Members,

As a former, long-time Kelowna citizen, I am appalled by your recent decision to start killing the rabbit population in the Dilworth area.

While the TRACS organization had found a solution to deal with this problem in a way that seemed to be a much more humane and sensible way of dealing with defenseless animals, it seems that Kelowna's City Council is once again into the old ways of killing for no good reason at all. I vividly remember the City's wish to cull the geese, the beavers, and how many bears were shot on numerous occasions by your over-zealous conservation officers. Who's next on the culling list? The deer? The moose? The coyotes?
Not the crocodiles living in a residential Rutland area who probably are still allowed to procreate in a basement...

I lived in Dilworth for many years and have been aware of the expanding rabbit population, like many people, including City Council, but nobody particularly cared.

Now iiving in the Greater Vancouver area, I have become familiar with the large populations of rabbits, raccoons, coyotes, sea gulls, rats, mice and people.

Kelowna is just small fry compared to what is going on here. Yet, we all live together here and so it should be in a city like Kelowna.

Live and let live should be Kelowna's strategy, rather than cull anything resembling an animal that you think is residing in too large numbers, in particular an animal species that has no intention of hurting anyone!

The Okanagan is in the so-called Bible-belt of B.C. and the religious fanatics and pro-lifers seem to thrive there and have obviously read in the Bible that we can kill at will anything but people??

I think it is time that the people of Kelowna, i.e. the decision makers such as you, decide to become a more humane group.

We have started to call Kelowna Cullowna and that is the name that befits your City as long as you see nothing wrong with this absurd culling of animals that should have a right to live.

N.B.: As is always the question: Where, oh where is the S.P.C.A. when an extermination of animals is planned??

Shame on all of you in Kelowna if you allow this rabbit holocaust to happen!

Madelon Keij
Surrey, B.c.