After three dozen frustrated Richmondites and rabbit-lovers gathered at a Rabbitats Rescue Society community meeting on Wednesday, the animal welfare organization has committed to forming a task force to address Richmond’s booming bunny population.
The rabbit problem in the city stems from dumped and abandoned bunnies that are now breeding out of control with nowhere to go, according to Rabbitats.
“Rabbits are falling through so many cracks — they are classified as wildlife, pets and agriculture so there is no one overall group responsible for them or advocating for them. The dumped pets' feral offspring have even fewer advocates,” Sorelle Saidman, founder of Rabbitats told the Richmond News.
Wednesday’s meeting was nearly at capacity and included representatives from local businesses such as Ikea at Richmond Corporate Centre.
During the presentation, Richmond real estate agent and animal activist Laura-Leah Shaw spoke about the success of the University of Victoria’s rabbit rescue in 2010 and Gail Terry, general manager of Richmond Auto Mall spoke about the successful and humane removal of hundreds of rabbits from their property.
Rabbitats’ task force will focus on options such as short term sanctuaries and longer term ones like asking the City of Richmond to implement a spay/neuter and identification bylaw similar to the one that is in place for cats.
With files from Graeme Wood
