Cold death stalks beloved bunnies

Kelowna Daily Courier Don Plant
2008-06-27

Rabbit haters are using poison, sharp objects and even dogs to control a growing bunny population in Kelowna, say animal-right advocates.

But authorities won‘t do much to stop the carnage. The European rabbits are considered an invasive species in B.C. and you can kill them without a permit.

“It would be an offence to poison rabbits,” said Jim Corbett, operations manager of the Conservation Officer Service for the Okanagan, “but it would be an extremely low priority for us.”

The latest slaughter of wild rabbits in North Glenmore has angered members of The Responsible Animal Care Society. More than a dozen bodies have appeared on a three-acre property at Valley and Cross roads in recent weeks.

“This is extremely cruel,” TRACS director Sinikka Crosland said Thursday. “This is a painful death. These people should be charged with animal cruelty.”

Neighbours suspect two men living in the area have taken on the rabbit problem by dropping grey, grainy material on the ground for the animals to eat.

A TRACS member has collected samples of what she believes is poison and plans to deliver it to police for analysis.

“Somebody is killing the rabbits, and not in a very nice way,” said Jane, whose name we‘ve changed because she fears retribution. “There are two neighbours who are very angry about rabbits.”

Jane found four dead rabbits on the North Glenmore property last Saturday. Three of them were poisoned, she said. The fourth had been gutted with its innards hanging out.

“We‘re frustrated. The amount of abuse going on against these rabbits is unbelievable,” she said.

Crosland worries other wildlife are at risk because they may feed on rabbits and mice that may have ingested the poison.

Residents are also frustrated. They complain the animals are chewing up their lawns and digging into their flower beds. There‘s sparse vegetation on the three-acre property, so the rabbits invade neighbouring yards.

TRACS has documented suspected rabbit cruelty for more than two years in the Enterprise Way area, where the population has exploded. Jane has heard of people tossing dead rabbits in garbage bags. One resident told her a man walking his dog at night shone his flashlight into a rabbit‘s eyes and the dog “tore its throat out,” she said.

“He left the bodies around for people to see.”

Under the province‘s Wildlife Act, residents can trap the animals or shoot them, but can‘t poison them, Corbett said. Because the rabbits are part of the same family as natural rabbits, it‘s illegal to use poison.

Still, it‘s doubtful the Conservation Office will investigate the slaughter. Rabbits often live in close proximity and are prone to disease, Corbett said.

“Rabbits sometimes die of other reasons than poison.”

TRACS has handed over a report to the RCMP, but police likely won‘t investigate because the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act applies only to domestic animals. The SPCA says the rabbits are beyond its jurisdiction because city council considers the rabbits wild.

An estimated 2,000 feral rabbits run free in Kelowna. The city has hired a firm to trap the animals starting this fall.