November 15, 2005

We would like your opinion on this matter and what you plan to do about it should you be elected as a Parks Board Commissioner. Please respond before November 19th.

Rabbit dumping in Vancouver parks must come to an end!

Vancouver Rabbit Rescue and Advocacy (VRRA) has recently approached the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation on this matter, but we have not been successful in getting the attention this issue deserves. We recently noted that the brushy area in Jericho Park that is inhabited by rabbits has been cut back, thus forcing them across the street and into residential areas for shelter. Residents in the Jericho Park area have contacted VRRA asking for help on this issue. They have rabbits in their backyards, have witnessed rabbits being killed and eaten by dogs, are concerned for the welfare of the rabbits, and are worried about coyotes in the area.

One resident contacted the park supervisor for her area, only to be told that coyotes will take care of the problem, or that she could catch the rabbits herself and call the Parks Board to come and retrieve them. These suggestions are ridiculously far from solutions. What will happen when there is suddenly a thriving coyote population feeding on rabbits in the middle of a Vancouver residential area? Once the rabbits are eaten, what will the coyotes prey on next? The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation's inaction on this matter is unacceptable. It is time they admit there is a problem and deal with it in a sustainable and humane manner.

Destroying the rabbits’ habitat and leaving them open to being attacked and eaten by coyotes is hardly an answer to this problem. VRRA has suggested to the Parks Board that signs be erected warning people that it is an offence to dump domestic animals in public parks. We have been ignored. The attitude seems to be to deny that there is a problem. Something must be done to make people aware that this is unacceptable behaviour and that it will not be tolerated. Fines and charges should be levied.

Most abandoned rabbits are the result of impulse purchases from pet stores. They are then dumped in various Vancouver parks when they are no longer small and cute, or when it is realized that rabbits require more care than a child can give. Almost all of the unwanted rabbit problems would disappear if bylaws were passed that prohibited the selling of rabbits in pet stores.

Signage in parks and preventing pet stores from selling rabbits would help solve this problem. Rabbit dumping is caused by ignorance and can be alleviated through education and the enactment of appropriate city bylaws.

Sincerely,
Karen Webster
VRRA Board, Secretary