Each week people are turned away from Vancouver Island Fluffle, after hoping the non-profit will take in the feral domestic rabbits they found outside, because there are so many abandoned rabbits that the group can't offer help.
Helena Hickman, V.I. Fluffle's chairperson, estimates that she gets about five or six e-mails a week asking the non-profit to take on rescued bunnies.
"People often feel compelled to take in these rabbits, especially when they appear very tame," Hickman said. "They do not have the means to provide proper housing and care, and then expect rescue organizations to take them in … This is not feasible. The sad reality is that rabbits procreate prolifically and there is no way of rescue organizations matching the rate at which they produce. The answer is not to take them in, but to educate the public that abandonment is not the answer."
Vancouver Island has two kinds of rabbits, both invasive. The eastern cottontail, sporting a brown coat and white underbelly, arrived in B.C. in the 1920s, then the Island in the 1960s. These are wild species that remained wild. The other is released European domestic rabbits and their descendants, known as ferals.
While it is illegal to do so, Hickman said people are continuing to release their pets outside.
"It is disheartening that, despite the abundance of information online, abandoning pet rabbits remains a widespread and seemingly acceptable practice in Nanaimo and surrounding areas, as well as on the mainland. We are aware of colonies around [Metral Drive], for example. New rabbits are added to this colony frequently; they are not babies, they are newly dumped rabbits."
Up until about a year ago, the group did take in rabbits, but found the rate of adoption versus intake wasn't sustainable, prompting them to drop the service completely.
Hickman said the group's current plan is to adopt out its current rabbits in care and shift to focusing on education, which includes recognizing the impact rabbit abandonment has on both the animals and the environment.
"People really need to consider what they're doing when they buy a pet, any pet. They're going to need a lot of care and these guys are no exception … It's not OK to dump them. It's really subjecting them to a life of suffering. It isn't fair."
On top of danger of being hit by vehicles, the life of an outdoor rabbit on Vancouver Island isn't a pleasant one. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease spreads through the Island's feral population. The disease is non-contagious to humans but highly contagious and lethal to the feral domestic population. Encephalitozoon cuniculi is another disease causing a loss of balance, kidney failure and bladder weakness, among other symptoms.
"People look at them and think they're OK, but they're bred to be looked after by humans. When you get some of the more longer-haired species like angoras, which do get dumped, they have wool and it needs to be looked after."
Hickman is an owner of a formerly feral angora that when found "was so matted he couldn't walk."
According to B.C.'s Wildlife Act, feral rabbits cannot be relocated, but a permit is not required for trafficking, possessing or exporting feral rabbits, captive or not.
While taking in a feral is a way to reduce the outdoor population, Hickman said that before doing so, the person should have the proper housing and be prepared for an expensive responsibility. Often the feral rabbits may have a need for medical treatments depending on how long they've been outside.
"Rabbits are really expensive. They should be fixed. You can't just put a load of rabbits together and expect them to get along, there's a long process for it. Obviously if you get a male and female they're going to breed, which is another issue that we see a lot of."
If someone isn't prepared for the personal responsibility, Hickman advises leaving the rabbit where they are.
"You're not supposed to pick them up, you're not supposed to relocate them. People pick them up thinking they're being helpful, but that's really against the Wildlife Act as well because they're an invasive species … I know it's terrible, but you have to leave them be if you can't do anything with them."
More information on appropriate rabbit guardianship or how to adopt a rabbit can be found on V.I. Fluffle's website at http://vifluffle.ca.
