There's another bunny crisis at the Guelph Humane Society.
With over 20 rabbits now in their care, GHS is reducing its adoption fee to help these creatures find new homes.
"The rabbit population has exploded," said Natalie Thomas, manager of marketing and communications at the Guelph Humane Society.
After 17 rabbits left their care during successful Adopt A Rescued Rabbit campaign in February, Thomas said the GHS received lots of strays in the past month, including seven stray bunnies over a two-day period. One bunny who went on to have a litter of six bunnies.
These bunnies, combined with others currently at GHS that were surrendered to them, have resulted in 25 rabbits coming into their care.
“We had a lot of bunnies being surrendered, a lot of bunnies being strays, and so we have a lot of rabbits,” said Thomas.
Thomas notes it’s not only Guelph seeing a lot of rabbits coming into their care.
“At the same time we were having a lot of strays, Kitchener was having a lot of strays as well,” she said. “It’s not just the Guelph Humane Society. Our peers are the Kitchener-Waterloo Society and in Ottawa, we have all voiced these concerns for several months now.”
To help manage the crisis, the GHS is again lowering the adoption fee for rabbits to $50 throughout the month of April. The normal fee is $160.
Currently, there are 17 rabbits that are available.
“This is a huge value, because the bunnies are spayed and neutered, and that’s a huge cost on your own,” said Thomas.
She adds owning a bunny is not owning a cat or a dog, as people aren’t as familiar with their needs.
To help bunny owners, Thomas adds the GHS has come out with a series of YouTube videos called ‘Bunny Basics,’ which teach owners to do things, like properly pick up their rabbit, litter train their rabbit and more.
“There are so many things people don’t know because they didn’t grow up with a pet rabbit,” said Thomas, who adds rabbits can live between 10-12 years. “You have to do your research and understand what their needs are.”
While the Guelph Humane Society isn't in need of any supplies to help care for these rabbits, Thomas mentions they are accepting volunteers to help foster bunnies and financial donations. To learn more, click here.
