Bunny havens brace for Easter aftermath

Pet rabbits regularly abandoned after holidays as owners grow tired of them

EASTER Weekend will not be a hopping time for bunnies all over the Western Cape as bunny sanctuaries will be preparing to rescue abandoned rabbits after they were bought as pets.

Sian Huyser, who founded Noordhoek Bunny Rescue in 2017, said that there were many areas in Cape Town where rabbits were regularly abandoned.

“Vredekloof Dam in Durbanville is a huge problem. But also parks all over the place and open spaces such as school fields and even on the mountain. They certainly didn’t get there themselves,” Huyser said.

She began privately rescuing rabbits after she moved to Noordhoek in October 2016 after a little black rabbit hopped in front of her car.

“I asked neighbours and they said that there were many breeding rabbits in the area as a result of a tenant from one of the houses moving out and leaving their unsterilised rabbits behind,” Huyser said.

She quickly found out that there was an abandoned bunny problem in Cape Town.

“There was no shelter exclusively for bunnies. Most focused on dogs and cats and were ill-equipped to deal with unwanted small animals.

“I started to build a sanctuary at the end of my garden so that I could take them in. With the help of Tears and Noordhoek Vet, we sterilise them and re-homed them,” Huyser said.

Huyser added that part of the problem was that while bunnies could be cheaply bought at pet stores, the cost to sterilise a single rabbit was close to R1 000.

“They breed monthly and these dumped rabbits get out of control very quickly,” Huyser said.

She has more than 100 rabbits at Noordhoek Bunny Rescue with almost 30 on a waiting list.

Monique Goosen from the Southern Cape Bunny Haven said that because rabbits had become associated with Easter, many children and parents got excited about baby bunnies.

However, the novelty of having a bunny as a pet did not last long.

“During Easter Weekend, some of the bunnies escape as they are not put in safe areas. Dogs get them. Cats get them. They end up in the street and get run over. The children get bored, or the bunny bites, or the parents realise how much work is involved,” Goosen said.

She added that when the bunnies reached adulthood at 12 to 15 weeks they started spraying urine as well as fighting and biting. She also emphasised bunnies should not be considered a children’s pet or beginner’s pet.

“Bunnies are a 10-year commitment. They are quite expensive to keep and should be sterilised to prevent spraying and hormonal behaviour.

“Bunnies are best kept in pairs, but special bonding is needed to introduce new ones. Rescues often have bonded pairs available. Bunnies seldom like to be picked up and should rather sleep inside, or have a very safe place to sleep if outside,” Goosen said.

Huyser has started the process of registering her bunny sanctuary as a non-profit organisation.

She said that running the sanctuary cost her approximately R8000 a month, and that she relied on help from fellow bunny lovers.

CALYN MONERON BUNNIES might be cute when they are young, but they are hard work as pets and are expensive to keep. |