10 rabbits dumped in neighborhood Palo Alto, CA (US) Incident Date: Saturday, Jan 28, 2006 County: Santa Clara Local Map: available Disposition: Open Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Case ID: 7348 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: rabbit (pet) View more cases in CA (US) Login to Watch this Case

Animal control officers have rounded up 65 rabbits abandoned in five separate incidents over the past six months, and they believe the same person is responsible for all of them.

The most recent batch of 10 was dropped off January 28, 2006 at the city-owned Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden near Embarcadero Road, where most of the other dumpings have happened.

"It appears that the person is endlessly allowing rabbits to breed and then they are carelessly dumping them in our city,'' city officials wrote in a statement. All but one of the rabbits -- a small, shy bunny named Maybeline -- have been euthanized. They were skittish and not used to humans, and some were thin and had open wounds on their bodies, the city said. "A decision to put the rabbits to sleep doesn't come without a heavy heart,'' city officials wrote in the statement.
"The health and temperament is a strong consideration, while the shelter must consider that it would be inhumane to keep all of the rabbits because we simply do not have the space.'' Maybeline is in a foster home and up for adoption.

The person abandoning the animals could be charged with a misdemeanor. Palo Alto resident Marybeth Fox and her family have spotted several rabbits near their home, including one at the city's lawn bowling green next to Gamble Garden. ``Some of the lawn bowlers feared he'd eat the lawn greens,'' said Fox, who is a novice lawn bowler herself. ``It's really sad. Whoever is doing this isn't thinking about the animals' welfare.'' She said when her family adopted a rabbit they could no longer handle, she gave the rabbit to animal control. That's the responsible thing to do, said Marcy Schaaf, director of the San Francisco and Marin County chapter of the House Rabbit Society, an international rabbit rescue group. She said parents often buy bunnies for their kids from pet stores without getting the animals spayed or neutered, and the bunnies breed -- well, like rabbits. Families looking to buy rabbits should consider adopting instead, Schaaf said. Not only would it probably spare the life of a rabbit -- because of the lack of space in area shelters -- but it's also cheaper. ``It seems like people are dumping rabbits all over the place,'' Schaaf said. ``It's a really cruel thing to do to.'' When people let their rabbits go wild, they probably assume the rabbits will be able to survive, Schaaf said. This is not true. Pet rabbits have trouble surviving outside of homes. `They're hit by cars, killed by dogs and eaten by raccoons,'' she said.

In recent months, animal control officers have rescued 30 rabbits living in filthy or inhumane conditions in Oakland, 55 in Watsonville, 70 in Sacramento and 300 in Bakersfield, Schaaf said. Twenty-two rabbits in a San Jose shelter will be euthanized soon because they don't have homes, she said. Schaaf said she'd like to see as much compassion for rabbits as people seem to have for other pets. ``If this was happening to golden retrievers or poodles, there would be a $100,000 reward and people would be demanding justice,'' Schaaf said.

Since Aug. 1, 2005, the rabbit hoarder has deserted batches of 10 to 19 rabbits on five separate occasions, Stadler said. The first two groups of rabbits, abandoned on Aug. 1 and Aug. 22, 2005, were in the poorest condition with numerous sores, bite wounds and respiratory infections, Stadler said. "The veterinarian who examined them felt they needed to be euthanized immediately, they were in such bad shape," Stadler said. The other batches, nonetheless, weren't in much better health, and all exhibited unsocial behavior, she said. "It was clear they never been handled by a human," she said. All rabbits showed similarities in appearance, age and condition, which leads investigators to believe one person, or group of people, is responsible for dumping all the rabbits. "Whoever did it probably thought they could survive in a garden park setting," Stadler said. "But in reality, domestic pets of any kind don't do well when let loose."

For more information about adopting and caring for rabbits, visit www.saveabunny.com.

If you have information on this case, please contact:
Palo Alto Animal Services
www.saveabunny.com
(650) 496-5971

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References

	Mercury News - February 6, 2006
	SF Gate News - February 6, 2006

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