Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Rescuers round up rabbits dumped in park
Volunteers had their hands full Saturday, rounding up domesticated rabbits that have been running wild around Pioneer Canal Park in Boynton Beach for decades.
These rabbits were once pets that were abandoned by their owners, according to Luz Pereira with East Coast Rabbit Rescue.
“These were probably Easter bunnies that were just dumped in the park and they’ve been breeding and now there’s a problem in the neighborhood,” she said. “We think there may be up to 100.”
While exact numbers cannot be confirmed, city and county Animal Care and Control agencies have said rabbits have been in that park and surrounding neighborhood for more than 20 years.
Volunteers collected at least seven rabbits on Saturday and said they caught 17 earlier in the week. The bunnies were captured humanely, said Dr. Dana Krempels, a University of Miami biologist and member of the House Rabbit Society in Miami.
“We put up corrals, we set out some food, and when the bunnies are all eating we come around with beach towels and herd them into the corral and then close the corral so they are not scared,” she said.
These abandoned pets are unable to fend for themselves in the wild and are frequent prey to predators, people and the elements.
“These domesticated rabbits get put outside and immediately get diseases, fleas, ticks, abscesses and everything,” Pereira said.
She said that the goal is to gather the domestic rabbits, provide veterinary care, spay or neuter them, and then find foster and adoptive homes where the rabbits will be able to live indoors as pets.
Not every neighbor was happy with the group’s intentions. One confronted several of the orange-clad volunteers telling them to leave the rabbits alone because the animals weren’t bothering anyone.
“If you touch these bunnies, they’re skeletons,” Krempels said. “If you look in their fur, there’s nothing but fleas [and] they have mange.”
Most domestic rabbits can live 10 to 15 years, but their lifespan can be much shorter outdoors.
“Obviously a little bunny is something that’s very desirable prey for a predator,” said Capt. David Walesky, with Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. “We’ve got coyotes, we’ve got foxes, we’ve got bobcats … so anything is possible.”
Florida animal cruelty laws state, in part, any person found guilty of depriving an animal of “necessary sustenance or shelter” can face up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.