A volunteer group that rescued about a hundred rabbits from a Granada Hills home last month is under the gun to find them homes because the furry critters are starting to multiply — as rabbits tend to do — with the likelihood that the colony could soon grow to more than 300 bunnies.
The rabbits, including babies, nursing mothers, juveniles and adult rabbits, are currently housed at six animal shelters across Los Angeles.
The rabbit tale began on Feb. 20 when a resident in Granada Hills called Los Angeles Animal Services, asking for help to capture and remove a large group of rabbits, according to a spokesperson for the city agency. The animals appeared to have been held in a makeshift pen in a backyard loaded with industrial equipment.
On Feb. 24, volunteers with the nonprofit group Bunny World Foundation helped capture about 50 rabbits at the city’s request. The job was messy because recent rains had created a muddy scene for the volunteers who had to collect the bunnies, most of which had matted fur. The rest of the rabbits were picked up by L.A. Animal Services on Feb. 27.
The rabbits were transported to the West Valley Animal Shelter, where babies were separated from the rest and taken by the Bunny World Foundation. Over the following days, the colony was dispersed to other shelters around the city.
“We picked up all the babies, because they couldn’t really make it and survive in the shelter system,” Bunny World Foundation founder Lejla Hadzimuratovic said.
Hadzimuratovic expected hundreds of babies among the rabbits, but there were only about nine, which leads her to believe that others were probably eaten by coyotes, owls, foxes and other predators at the Granada Hills home.
The rabbits appeared well fed, but the majority are longhaired, meaning they should not have been kept outdoors and require daily brushing to avoid painful matting of the fur, Hadzimuratovic said.
The perpetually expanding colony of rabbits are a handful for the volunteer group, which includes about a dozen people and hundreds of foster homes. The group does not have an established office but is helping the city transport the rescued rabbits to their medical appointments and coordinating their eventual adoptions.
It’s unclear if the person who called the city for assistance will be cited or billed for the rabbit colony that flourished on their property. But it’s no surprise that the situation got out of hand because a rabbit pregnancy lasts about 30 days, meaning an adult female bunny could have a new litter every four to six weeks, according to experts.
“I understand they had two pop last night, one with eight [babies] and one with seven babies,” Gayle Roberts, a veterinarian with the Northwood Animal Hospital in Irvine said about the rescued rabbits. Roberts, who has worked with the Bunny World Foundation in the past, spayed and neutered at least 10 rescued rabbits following their arrival at the city animal shelters.
While there is a real need to find the rabbits homes — either foster or permanent —Roberts cautioned animal lovers who might want to take in the rabbits.
Rabbit adopters must perform perpetual grooming to keep the rabbit’s fur from matting and must keep a close eye on the bunnies’ diet and poops.
If a rabbit has stomach issues, it is unable to vomit because its digestive system is a one-way street. Instead of appearing ill, a rabbit will simply stop eating and all the normal digestive bacteria in its stomach will die out, Roberts said. Rabbit owners must be familiar with this common and dangerous condition known as gastrointestinal stasis.
“You have to watch them carefully,” she added.
That means monitoring their stool and eating habits.
“It’s a little bit labor intensive as far as like buying their food and feeding them and cleaning up after them and whatnot,” Roberts said.
Rabbits also need a companion rabbit they can bond with and lots of room to play around, preferably indoors, Roberts said.
That 2-for-1 adoption deal might be just what the city and Bunny World Foundation need right now as they seek new homes.
“We have to screen all the candidates, because once people realize fostering is actually work they sometimes back away,” Hadzimuratovic said. “We depend on people’s integrity. If we’re going to pull this mom from the shelter and put her into your home, and then about a month later, you’re like, ‘Well, I’m done. Can someone else take it on?’ Well, who else is gonna take it on?”
Anyone interested in fostering a rabbit can visit the Bunny World Foundation website
or email info@bunnyworldfoundation.org.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
