Dear Editor,
Anyone who spends any time in Minoru Park has noticed the rabbits there. They are found by the chapel and scattered throughout the park. You will see visitors taking photos of the rabbits and sometimes offering them carrots or other treats.
For many years I have routinely visited these rabbits who are abandoned to live in Minoru Park. I have met hundreds of rabbits. Some I have met once or twice and others I have seen over several months or years. A few I have come to know well.
I don’t talk to the rabbits and the time I spend with them is limited. But we always communicate through our eyes and our body language and so we understand each other. I know their hunger, their fear, and their suffering. I have witnessed how as abandoned pets they must struggle so hard to survive. When possible, I have tried to help them and get help for them. Sometimes I could; sometimes I could not.
Now I want to walk away and never look back. But the problem is that there are still rabbits left in Minoru Park. However bad I may feel, those rabbits feel far worse. As much as I want to never again bear witness to what is happening, I have no choice but to return and keep trying to help the rabbits. To not return is to give up all hope. And that is not an option.
Why am I telling you this? Because you may not be aware that all is not as it appears to be in Minoru Park. And the next time you see a rabbit in the park, I hope that you will remember my words. I ask you to think about the reality of that abandoned pet rabbit you see before you.
Please, don’t be a bystander to the cruelty. Step forward and participate in ending the tragedy of Minoru Park’s abandoned rabbits for once and for all. These sweet, defenseless creatures have no voice. They need you to speak on their behalf.
What you can do:
- Never abandon a rabbit or other pet.
- Adopt, don’t shop, when adding a rabbit or other pet to your family.
- Contact animal control and the SPCA when you see a rabbit or any animal being mistreated or abandoned. It is against the law.
- Contact your local city council and MLA, requesting action be taken to help the abandoned rabbits.
- Support rescue efforts and rescues/shelters who take in abandoned rabbits and other animals.
- Speak out and be a voice for the innocent victims.
In the words of Albert Einstein, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
Cindy Howard
Richmond
