B.C. rescue organization struggling to keep up with abandoned bunnies

Rabbits can be cute and cuddly, but a local rabbit rescue society says they’ve received tons of requests from people all over B.C. wanting to surrender their rabbits, and not as many people wanting to adopt them.

Rabbitats Rescue Society is doing it’s best to keep up with the issue of homeless and feral rabbits, but it’s not an easy task.

“These are people that got rabbits from pet stores. They got them from breeders. They got them off of Craigslist, Kijiji, and they’re almost always mis-sexed and they always end up with accidental litters,” Rabbitats founder Sorelle Saidman explained.

Saidman says they have nearly 500 rabbits in temporary sanctuaries across the Lower Mainland, and a waiting list of 100 rabbits that current owners want to surrender. With so many tails to keep track of, Rabbitats is looking for donations to buy a 10 acre property in Langley, so they can at least give these furry creatures a place to stay while they wait for a forever home.

She adds that people often dump their rabbits in parks, which contributes to B.C.’s feral rabbit problem.

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Executive Director of the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia Gail Wallin says these rabbits that aren’t native to B.C. cause a lot of problems in our environment.

“European rabbits first of all, they’re voracious eaters. They build warrens or tunnels as part of their habitat. And that’s destructive too if you’ve got gardens, if you’ve got agricultural products, if that’s your natural environment. But the big thing is they don’t belong here, and they’re upsetting the natural ecosystem balance,” she said.

Wallin offered a couple tools for keeping that invasive species from roaming and multiplying. She says it’s important to report feral rabbits to the Invasive Species Council of B.C., and to get your rabbit fixed if you own one.

“One of the tools that is not in the box is releasing them up to the environment, that is illegal in British Columbia and irresponsible as a pet owner and not good for your rabbit because your rabbit is used to your house, it’s not used to getting out there in the wild,” she explained.

The rabbits at The Bunny Café in Vancouver are all up for adoption, which is one more way the Invasive Species Council says you can keep rabbits off the B.C. streets.