Bunny complaints multiply at UVic
Neighbours call the critters a scourge, so university appoints a task force

Kim Westad
Times Colonist

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The University of Victoria has a new task force - on rabbits.

To some, the fluffy creatures are a scourge on the community, pests hopping across Gordon Head Road from the UVic campus and "invading" residential properties. To others, they're the unofficial mascot of the university.

The number of rabbits heading across Ring Road into neighbouring residential areas is on the rise and at a tipping point, says Gordon Head Road resident Peter Spurr.

Last year a few made their way across, but this year there has been a veritable parade. The rabbits are now in an area three or four lots deep on adjacent streets, said Spurr, who is worried they'll continue their onslaught and "infect the neighbourhood."

"UVic is being very irresponsible in allowing the huge rabbit population to affect its neighbours," said Spurr.

Spurr doesn't care why it's happening, or how UVic deals with it, as long as something is done. He doesn't know what a task force can do. "It sounds to me as if it's just a delaying tactic. But I suppose it's something."

The task force was announced Monday, after UVic received a letter from the Mount Tolmie Community Association, complete with photographs of gangs of rabbits. They burrow in lawns, eat gardens, damage irrigation equipment and generally create havoc.

It's a complex problem, with strong feelings on both sides, said Gerald Robson, who is UVic's executive director of facilities management.

There have been concerns about potential health issues caused by rabbit feces on campus, he said.

"We haven't had an opportunity to meet with people to fully assess the impact, either negative or positive, that the rabbits are bestowing upon us," Robson said yesterday. "Some people see the rabbits as a problem. Others see them as quite desirable, so it's without a doubt going to be a very sensitive issue."

UVic has never culled the rabbits or conducted a formal discussion about having the creatures shot. Robson said it's premature to say whether that would even be an option considered by the task force. UVic has counted on natural predation, letting nature take its course with the area's many falcons, owls, hawks and off-leash dogs.

The university has long tried to find a way to contain the damage done by the cute creatures, even building a $10,000 fence around the prize-winning rhododendron collection at Finnerty Gardens on campus.

Just how many rabbits call UVic home isn't known, but it's likely at least 1,000. And rabbits being rabbits - females have about five litters per year, with an average of 12 young per litter - the number is in constant fluctuation.

The rabbits are not wild, Robson said, but the result of people abandoning domesticated rabbits on campus.

He noticed a large increase in the number of rabbits at UVic after rabbits at Victoria General Hospital were culled by shooting in 1999. The hospital has also had a large and prolific rabbit population.

When the numbers get too large, some of the rabbits are culled, said Suzanne Germaine, spokeswoman for the Vancouver Island Health Authority. That started in 1999 and happens periodically, to keep the population under control.

Just who will be on UVic's task force isn't known yet. Robson said they'll have a cross-section of people who are interested in the issue.