The killing of a rabbit, apparently for food, was a disturbing sight for the person who reported it to the Nanaimo RCMP this week, but killing rabbits to eat is not a crime, even in public and within city limits.
Nanaimo RCMP confirmed they received a complaint about the incident, which happened on Zorkin Road near the Brechin Boat Ramp at about 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17.
“There was a male who grabbed a rabbit and violently killed it with a knife and peeled off the skin [at a fish-cleaning station],” said reserve Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson.
The man who allegedly killed the rabbit then left with it in a pickup truck. The person who witnessed the incident provided a description and licence number of the vehicle to police. O’Brien said investigators followed up with the individual to determine his motivations and to determine if any charges were appropriate.
But there isn’t much in the way of protection under the law for feral European rabbits and eastern cottontail bunnies, neither of which are native species on Vancouver Island.
According to the City of Nanaimo's bylaws department, municipalities can enact bylaws regarding wildlife so long as they're consistent with provincial legislation and are subject to approval by the minister responsible. The City of Nanaimo’s animal responsibility bylaw was enacted in 2021, but the only provisions relating to wildlife are prohibitions against feeding deer, raccoons, squirrels, feral rabbits or dangerous wildlife, such as bears, cougars and wolves. Trapping or killing rabbits is regulated by the province.
“City bylaws prohibit the discharge of firearms or bows in the city with exceptions for the hunting of migratory birds in locations around the [Nanaimo] River estuary,” said Dave LaBerge, the city's director of public safety, in an e-mail.
He added that a bylaw prohibiting body-gripping traps was introduced in Nanaimo in 2013, but later abandoned as it was never approved by the provincial government.
Under the B.C Wildlife Act, all species of hares and rabbits are designated as wildlife. However, European rabbits and eastern cottontails, though considered wildlife, are categorized as invasive, non-native pests that destroy property and agricultural crops and are detrimental to native wildlife and habitats and therefore aren’t protected under the act. Those species can be hunted, trapped or killed on Crown or private land (with permission), without a licence or permit.
Regulations changes 2023 to the Wildlife Act, designed to further help the government manage the rabbits, added the prohibition against European and eastern cottontail rabbits being relocated or released into the wild. A permit is no longer required to traffick, possess or export European rabbits, captive or not. The change removes permit requirements for municipalities and other groups to trap rabbits and transport them to rehab centres or homes, or to have them euthanized.
The B.C. SPCA considers wild European rabbits to be free-living domestic (feral) rabbits. In an online statement, B.C. SPCA said it does not support rabbit culls for nuisance reasons, and “strongly encourages the use of non-lethal, non-contact, prevention and exclusion techniques.” The SPCA supports humane trapping, sterilization and re-homing adoptable rabbits in “approved homes or sanctuaries that can provide for their needs for the remainder of their lives.”
After consulting with B.C. Conservation Officer Service, Nanaimo RCMP determined no laws were broken in the rabbit killing on the weekend.
“What the individual did does not contravene any laws. It was not on private land, rabbits are not indigenous to the Island and therefore, it was not unlawful what he did,” O’Brien said. “If he had killed the animal for the sake of killing it, that would be a different story, but that was not the case.”
