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Getting rabbits off the street

By Cara Brady
Morning Star Staff
Apr 04 2007

Street bunnies get a second chance thanks to Maurie Deaton. She has been live trapping as many rabbits as she can and finding homes for them for the past several years. The rabbit population has been exploding in the Seaton school area and up the East Hill to the Vernon Community Music School area.

“We think this got started when someone, probably deliberately, left four rabbits after they moved. Now there are so many rabbits and they are getting caught by cats and dogs, run over, getting infections (the males fight) and starving to death in the winter. It is particularly hard on the females who keep having babies until they die and most don't last one winter,” said Deaton, who currently has about 40 rabbits in cages in a tent in her backyard with 22 ready to be spayed or neutered and go to new homes.

Rabbits mature at four-to-six-months old and can reproduce every four weeks with an average litter size of six. The males are territorial and so the population keeps moving outwards. There have been problems with rabbits eating gardens and, in some cases, gnawing on wood and wires in buildings. Some towns have banned the commercial sale of rabbits.

“People might think they are doing a good thing to set a rabbit free but they aren’t. Letting them go in town puts them in danger, and letting them go in the wild means they will be a meal for a coyote or owl,” said Deaton.

She wants people who are thinking about getting a rabbit at Easter to consider that it is a year-round pet and needs proper care and attention.

“Rabbits are very social and they all have different personalities. If you are going to have an indoor bunny who gets lots of attention, then you can probably have just one. If they are outdoors, you should have more than one. They like to groom and cuddle each other and be together. They can be trained to use a littler box and to go for a walk on a leash. They usually live five-to-seven years. The most important thing is to have them spayed and neutered.” Deaton has an arrangement to have rabbits spayed for $65 or neutered for $35 plus tax at Panorama Veterinary Service in Winfield. She would like volunteers to help feed, clean and exercise the rabbits and to foster them at home to socialize them.

For now, she’s taking the responsibility herself, with help with food and veterinarian costs from the North Okanagan Humane Society, the Vernon and District Animal Care Society and the Animal Advocates Society. Super A Foods gives her leftover greens.

“If you are going to get any kind of pet, be sure you can take the responsibility for it. They are not disposable. Rabbits are very personable and have a calming affect,” said Deaton, who keeps two rabbits as personal pets. She holds Lola, a cuddly black and tan female with brown eyes, who would like a home. “I'd love to see all these rabbits get good homes and bring the population under control.”

For more information, to adopt a bunny or to volunteer or make a donation call Deaton at 938-4411.