http://www.am1150.ca/comment/reply/902590
TRACS awarded bunny contract
Mon, 2009-03-30 19:05.
Local News

A long-awaited victory for The Responsible Animal Care Society on Monday, as Kelowna Council has awarded the group a contract to handle the city's rabbit problem.

TRACS will now be responsible for capturing, then spay or neutering the wild animals, then move them to sanctuaries for the rest of their lives.

Parks Services Manager Ian Wilson says they'll be keeping a close eye on the $11,500 process. He says, "We want evidence on where animals are being captured, we want databases, we want locations... we also want spay and neuter certificates."

Wilson says they'll be ready to step iin if the bunny population doesn't go down.

"There's a performance clause in there that says 'We'll give you seven days to step up your activities. If you fail to comply with that, we could come in and take some other measure - perhaps hire somebody else'."

Meanwhile, City Councillor Graeme James isn't entirely convinced the capture-and-neuter method will keep up with the rabbits this Spring. He says, "I just hope they do maintain a low population, but I find it very difficult to not see where this is going. I just really have some problems with this."

James, who has previously stated he was in favour of culling, says TRACS' approach could be costly and ineffective:

"Rabbits will do what rabbits do... It's going to eat up the $11,500 up in no time if we do get an outbreak of rabbits. I just really have a problem with now changing our requirements to do that."

City Councillor Robert Hobson also had some concerns over TRACS' method.

"I think it would be a concern to me if they kept growing and we kept gathering them up and kept having sanctuaries with more and more rabbits in them. And then you create an expectation that someone's going to have to look after them. Then, can they take care of that many rabbits? Etcetera, etcetera..."

In the end, the motion was passed with a unanimous vote. City Staff will return to Council in about six months with an update on how the rabbits are being managed.

Denise Wong