Rabbit cull firm faces threats
Chuck Poulsen, Kelowna Daily Courier
2008-08-13
The company hired to kill feral rabbits has received threats from people who plan to disrupt the culling.
The company, EBB Environmental Consulting, is scheduled to start the culling “soon,” but Ian Wilson, the city‘s urban forester, said he doesn‘t want to give an exact date.
“It‘s in the works, but EBB has received a few threats,” said Wilson. “Some people want to upset what‘s going on.” The city has hired EBB for a rabbit-control plan that includes killing and trapping.
Most of the rabbits are around Enterprise Way, but the city has had calls about rabbits in the downtown, Mission and Glenmore.
Sinnika Crosland, the head of The Responsible Animal Care Society, which is trying to rescue and relocate the rabbits, said her group is not behind the threats.
“We‘ve been vocal, but we haven‘t threatened the company,” said Crosland. “I haven‘t a clue who has, but there are a lot of disgruntled people out there. A lot of people are very upset about this.”
Meanwhile, the SPCA is urging the city to pass a proposed bylaw to ban the sale or adoption of unsterilized rabbits.
“It is very upsetting that the city is having to deal with these animals through a cull, and we have to look at ways to prevent this from happening again,” said Sara Dubois, manager of wildlife services for the B.C. SPCA.
She said one of the root causes of feral rabbit populations is people who purchase rabbits as pets and abandon them in city parks or other areas when they tire of the responsibility of caring for the animals.
“They think rabbits can fend for themselves, but in reality many of them succumb to terrible deaths through starvation, disease, predators or by running into traffic,” she said. “Those who do survive multiply rapidly, causing the type of rampant rabbit overpopulation that we‘ve witnessed in Kelowna.”
Wilson said the proposed bylaw is only one of four designed to deal with the problem.
He said the sterilization bylaw would even outlaw possession of rabbits that haven‘t been spayed or neutered.
Other bylaws would forbid feeding any wildlife in parks or public places, require that feral rabbits be contained on the property of owners and require that people raising rabbits do so in clean conditions.
He said the bylaws are being reviewed by the city‘s lawyer and may come before council in September.
Dubois said that releasing domestic rabbits into the wild is a criminal act under the Criminal Code of Canada and an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
“There is no doubt that the suffering of the feral rabbits in Kelowna and the subsequent need to cull them is, in part, the result of irresponsible humans who failed to provide the proper care for their domestic rabbits,” said Dubois.
“While it is difficult to catch people in the act of dumping animals, a bylaw preventing the sale or adoption of unsterilized rabbits would at least help prevent the rapid growth of feral populations.”
Rabbit cull methods revealed
by Kelly Hayes - Story: 41121 Castanet.net
Aug 13, 2008 / 12:39 pm
It's all systems go for the campaign to rid Kelowna of its rabbit problem.
Kelowna has been plagued by an explosion of feral rabbits, prompting the City to hire an environmental consulting company to deal with the issue.
Animal rights groups and the BCSPCA has been demanding the City release what methods will be used to deal with the animals.
The City released the list Wednesday. Ian Wilson with the City of Kelowna says three methods will be used.
"The first one is live trapping, followed by providing the live animals to rabbit rescue groups or to wildlife shelters. The second one is live trapping followed by lethal injection, which is akin to putting an animal down in a veterinary facility. The third one is the use of an air-rifle and the euthanized animals would be provided to wildlife shelters (food). It's a high-powered air-rifle that I guess is similar to a regular one except for the fact it doesn't make the same noise."
Wilson wasn't sure if the projectile would be pellets or bullets.
He says every effort will be made to have the rabbits relocated to shelters, but says some will have to be destroyed.
"We agree with some of the groups that we would like to try to preserve as many of the animals as we can, but we feel there are too many to rescue them all and have them spayed or neutered. We understand that TRACS has rescued up to 250 animals which is great."
Wilson says something has to be done now because the rabbits are spreading into farming communities.
"That's a major concern because they can cause major damage in the agricultural community. That's already happened at one farm where they've attacked the young apple trees."
He says there are more than 700 feral rabbits in Kelowna.
Wilson says he can't reveal when the campaign will begin because the company hired to do the job has been receiving threats from animal lovers, but says it will start within the next 30 days.
The BCSPCA says it doesn't have a problem with the three methods proposed.
Rabbit beaters arrested
by Kelly Hayes - Story: 41105
Aug 13, 2008 / 9:56 am
Kelowna RCMP have collared a couple of rabbit beaters.
The male suspects were arrested shortly after 2:30 Wednesday morning following reports of two people attempting to beat rabbits with sticks in the area of Harvey Avenue and Cooper Road.
A 24-year-old man and 14-year-old boy were arrested at the scene. They have since been released and police say that charges are pending.
Kelowna's feral rabbit problem is being addressed by an environmental consultant which plans on trapping the animals soon.
For more rabbit news and issues visit www.rabbitadvocacy.com