The booming bunny population has become a problem for the Guelph Humane Society.
Last week the organization had to turn away rescue bunnies because it has been swamped with the population already in its care. On Friday, the GHS issued a community warning saying that there are more bunnies than people interested in adopting them.
"It is very important to let people know that we will always take bunnies that are in distress or in an emergency. Even though we have a wait list for surrenders, if there is a bunny in urgent need of help we would never turn it away," said GHS's communication coordinator Natalie Thomas.
"We had nine adorable bunnies born in our care this spring. You would imagine that cute little baby bunnies go quickly. They usually do but they haven’t. Most of those babies are now grown, and still waiting to be adopted on our website."
In a press release, executive director Adrienne McBride said the organization is seeing three times as many rabbits as they have in the past. Last year, it saw 60 rabbits come into its care and this year, it has already seen over 90.
Thomas said not only has the GHS reached a maximum bunny intake, but so have other shelter and rescues.
"That’s what makes this so concerning: because there isn’t anywhere for people to go. We usually recommend trying to find bunny rehome groups on Facebook, but even those groups aren’t having very much luck. There are just too many bunnies in need of homes right now," said Thomas.
McBride said it's reminiscent of where many communities were with kittens 10 to 15 years ago.
"Awareness and education on bunny ownership is needed to help break this cycle,” said McBride in a press release.
The GHS now has a wait list for people looking to surrender their bunnies and guinea pigs. McBride said there are dozens of rabbits in foster care and even more in the shelter. She also said there are additional stray bunnies coming into care every week.
McBride said stray bunnies will likely become an even bigger concern as individuals looking to surrender their rabbit have nowhere to turn to and people have been known to leave unwanted domestic rabbits outside, hoping that someone will take the animal in if it's found, or leaving the rabbit to survive on its own in the wild – which domestic bunnies cannot do, as they lack survival skills.
The GHS said the community can do the following to help with the bunny boom.
- Spay/neuter pet rabbits
- Encourage people you know to spay/neuter their pet rabbits
- Stop buying rabbits and adopt them.
Until Sept. 10 people can receive a 50 per cent discount off regular adoption fees for a rabbit and guinea pigs. Spayed and neutered bunnies can be adopted for $80 and two spayed guinea pigs can be adopted for as little as $17.
