The New York Times has reported another feral rabbit boom- this one is taking place in Okaloosa Island, Florida.  Florida pet owners seem to have a bad habit of letting their pets run free.  Rabbits are a new addition to a list that already includes iguanas, pythons, and peacocks.

Although many Okaloosa residents initially viewed the growing feral rabbit population in a lighthearted way, when the rabbits started causing damage to shrubs and other property, attitudes changed.

For more info: NY Times

Australia has been burdened with a wild rabbit population disrupting its native ecology since the 1800s.  But now they face yet another rabbit problem in Sydney.

This time, a group of feral rabbits, which started out as someone’s pets that they dumped, is taking over the grassy area under Sydney Harbour Bridge.

While tourists find the furry critters to be endearing, especially as Easter approaches, something will need to be done to stop the family from breeding further.

Feral rabbit population booms in cities have been increasingly more common, as seen in many cities like Kelowna, Richmond, Helsinki and more.

For more info, see: news.com.au

Photo: Bruce Stotesbury

For years the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada has experienced a major problem with feral rabbits.  These rabbits, who started out as abandoned pets and then multiplied, have taken over the campus, destroying campus greenery and athletic fields.

Nick Shaw, a local veterinarian, has offered to provide vasectomies to the male rabbits at no charge to curb the population growth.  Vasectomies differ from neuters because the rabbits’ testicles would stay in tact.  In that way, the male rabbits would still embody normal territorial and mating behavior, but mating would not result in baby bunnies.  He hopes to defray his costs by holding fundraising events.

For more information:
Vancouver Sun
Rabbit Advocacy

The overpopulation of domestic rabbits running wild in Kelowna, British Columbia has been an ongoing issue for the Canadian city. Now, another British Columbia city, Richmond, which is located near Vancouver, faces a similar problem.

The Richmond Animal Protection Society (RAPS) has taken in over 40 unwanted/abandoned rabbits recently. Many were rescued from area parks after being dumped by their owners. If left on their own in the parks, these rabbits would produce litters upon litters of feral rabbits.  In fact, in 2006, mirroring circumstances caused lawmakers to schedule a cull of the out-of-control feral rabbit problem.  But before the cull took place, the rabbit population was decimated by disease and starvation.

Now the city may turn to a ban on rabbit sales to solve the problem. This would limit the number of impulse buys from pet stores that lead to the dumping of domestic rabbits in parks.

For more info: Richmond News

The Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary in Willis, Michigan is the largest rabbit rescue in the US, housing 550 rabbits. You can read more about the sanctuary in an earlier Rabbit Rescue Spotlight post on our bunny blog or at the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary website.

I love seeing photos of the place with all the permanent residents hopping around in their fenced-in rabbit pastures.  Here is a recent photo from The Ann Arbor News. Celeste Defellici had called out “TREATS!” and all the bunnies came running.

The Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary is in need of donations – leafy greens or a monetary contribution.  If you would like to help, call 734-461-1726, or visit the website at www.rabbitsanctuary.org.

Back in December, I posted about the feral rabbit population explosion in the Canadian city of Kelowna, British Columbia. Since then, the city has gone back and forth on how to handle the problem.  After complaints about the inhumane culling of the rabbits by use of air rifles, the city changed its approach.  Currently the city has turned to trapping the feral bunnies, and then putting them up for adoption.

The Responsible Animal Care Society (TRACS), who has been active in saving the rabbits, has sponsored many fundraising events. Their latest is a benefit concert featuring Elvis impersonator D.R. Elvis happening on Saturday, November 1.

For more information: http://www.tracs-bc.ca/bunfund.html

Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary, located at an old farm in Whittaker, MI, is the largest rabbit rescue in the US. Currently, their rabbit population has reached 550, with 75 adoptable bunnies and 475 feral rabbits. The rabbits up for adoption live in pens while the feral rabbits live outdoors in two large enclosures. There, the rabbits have dug an elaborate warren, but come out to play in the snow and run around.

For more information, see kids’ news video: Bunny Town! and the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary website.