ALERT! STOP CRUEL MASS KILLING OF RABBITS IN KELOWNA!
A citizens' group has invited TRACS to attend a protest against the planned extermination of Kelowna's feral rabbits. We'd like to help them spread the word and invite Okanagan residents to join in the chorus....on behalf of the bunnies. If you don't live in the Okanagan, please forward this alert to your contacts who do!
When: Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 9 a.m.
Where: Dilworth and Enterprise Way, Kelowna
Refreshments, props, placards, and a petition to sign will be available. Please attend and show your support! There is an election pending this fall, and City of Kelowna legislators need to place animal welfare concerns on their radar. An excellent turnout will ensure that they hear and understand that citizens care about animals and will vote accordingly in November. Let's encourage them to bring the feral rabbit issue back to the table for discussion...it's all up to Mayor Sharon Shepherd and her council!
Background Information:
The City of Kelowna voted on May 12, 2008 to hire EBB Environmental Consulting to address the city's feral rabbit population....by live-trapping and then killing them. Possible kill methods include drowning, gassing, or death by dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide).
TRACS has already removed over two hundred rabbits off city streets and will continue to rescue more as funds permit. We humanely trap, sterilize, and place the rabbits into permanent sanctuaries (not cages) where they will have plenty of room to exercise in the outdoors. In spite of the care we are taking and the positive message we are sending out to the community, the City of Kelowna has chosen killing over compassion.
Caring Citizens Fight Back!
This issue has caused a huge turmoil in Kelowna. Several schools are involved in letter-writing, and rabbit articles continue to appear in local newspapers. Last month, the issue went national. FaceBook groups devoted to saving the Kelowna rabbits were created. We've also received word about the launch of a pro-active website where rabbit supporters can go for information (online by this Thursday morning): www.savekelownasrabbits.com .
Thanks for fighting the good fight,
Sinikka Crosland, TRACS
www.tracs-bc.ca
tracs@shaw.ca