r/extremelyinfuriating • u/bellabarbiex • 4d ago
Discussion Abandoned bunnies
Went for a walk today at a park near me. I found 3 bunnies, abandoned by a little stream. My God. I usually try to empathize with people, think of a reason for their behavior but this was just madness. There wasn't any water, food or anything near by. This was right next to a busy road! I called animal control and the officer was very kind and informed me that they'd already gotten calls about the poor babes. Turns out, there's a huge problem with abandoned rabbits in this area - this park specifically is known for this.
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u/jazzhandsdancehands 4d ago
People are such assholes. Please tell me you took them to the vet/ rescue.
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u/bellabarbiex 4d ago
I called animal protection/animal control. I had my dog with me, otherwise I would have taken them to the shelter myself.
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u/Unlikely_Variation20 4d ago
I lived with a friend many years back whose neighbors had bred bunnies for some time until people stopped buying them. These morons released their remaining bunnies when they decided they didn’t want to do it anymore. This all happened when my friend was an adolescent, and by the time I lived with him, he was in his mid twenties. (He, his wife & his child lived in what was once his childhood home.)
The neighbors who owned the bunnies had moved shortly after the great bunny release, but the bunnies remained. In the ten years since they pulled that irresponsible stunt, the bunnies multiplied, and now that part of town (especially that specific cul-de-sac) is rampant with what appears to be house bunnies, though most, if not all of them have been wild their entire lives.
All this to say, people, please don’t release any pets. It is so very cruel to the animals, and in many cases they may be invasive. You could end up with bunnies dominating a neighborhood, beating up the local kitties, like what happened in my friend’s case.
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u/THAMRIEL- 4d ago
That's actually a good outcome for the bunnies (bad for the environment). The most common outcome where I live is that you find dead bunnies and bunny parts everywhere A few days after they are released...
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u/Unlikely_Variation20 4d ago
Honestly, you’re right. The bunnies are probably happier in that situation than they were in the hands of the breeders too. They really have taken over that whole area. You pull onto the street, and see dozens of them at any given time (usually at least 3 in each yard).
Oof, that’s a sad but true reality of how most of these cases go. No matter what, either the bunnies suffer or the local ecosystem suffers.
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u/Brosie24601 4d ago
Those bunnies would be going home with me
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u/bellabarbiex 4d ago
If I had the knowledge and means to.do so, I think I would have taken them home. I hope they have space for them at the shelter and the poor sweethearts don't end up as Easter props/gifts.
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u/Intense_Pretzel 4d ago
They weren't abandoned, they are placing easter eggs /jk
Seriously why do people dump animals they dont wantb
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u/bellabarbiex 4d ago
How polite of them, to get an start on Easter day celebrations for the children that play near by!
Dumping/abandonment can be somewhat understandable. why this? Why not leave them in a cage where they could be easily seen/rescued? Why not report an abandonment anonymously? Why not leave them at a 24 hr animal hospital? Something that's not this. Instead, they leave the poor babies in an area with hawks, coyotes, owls and loads of dogs. I wonder if they were ever loved.
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u/Intense_Pretzel 4d ago
People who dump tend to either not care about the animal or can't physically take care of them, and unfortunately, common sense isn't common, causing people to do stupid things
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u/Natural_Feed9041 4d ago
How do you know they aren’t just rabbits? Genuine question.
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u/madeat1am 4d ago
Those coat colours are bred
Wild rabbits are more of a brown colour maybe black
But that specific white one with a black spot is a bred bunny 100%
Also the size. Wild rabbits tend to be smaller and more lean
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u/bellabarbiex 4d ago
Aside from their coloring, their behavior is also indicative of them being domesticated. They stayed far too close to me - they sat in their spots for nearly 40 minutes. I was within petting distance of the black and white one. They were also very unbothered by dogs. You just don't see that in wild rabbits - at least I never have. They also aren't really seen in this area, just the domesticated/dumped ones.
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u/Blergsprokopc 4d ago
Vegas?
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u/bellabarbiex 4d ago
Yep
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u/Blergsprokopc 4d ago
It was a problem even when I lived there in 2011-13. That makes me so sad.
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u/bellabarbiex 4d ago
That's sick. Yeah, I didn't know until I saw them and did some research. I was shocked and disappointed that Vegas in general , but especially the parks had such an issue with rabbits abandonment, of all things.
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u/Blergsprokopc 4d ago
I'm shocked and also not that it's still an issue. I really hated living there. This just cements it. If you can afford to leave vegetables like leafy greens and water dishes out for them, it's helpful. Carrots are high sugar so they're only OK as treats. It's starting to get hot so the water is the big issue. They aren't spayed and neutered so they just keep breeding. It's awful.
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u/bellabarbiex 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm not too close to the park but that's a good idea, I will leave things for them when I go - there are bound to be more my next visit. It's just a shame, I wish the city could put out watering stations or something, anything but I do realize that's not a excellent fix. There should be more awareness in general of the issue. I feel like most people don't take abandoned rabbits as seriously as they would dogs/cats. I just couldn't leave them behind. Animal control did respond and show up, so I hope the officer was able to catch them and they'll end up in good homes.
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u/Blergsprokopc 4d ago
Thank you for doing that. I'm so glad they responded. I can't believe this is still a thing over 10 years later. People are awful.
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u/MissCasey 4d ago
We have a ton of loose domestic bunnies here in Anchorage, AK. It's so sad and people try to catch them but our animal control is already stretched to the limit. I've taken one in, and would do more but they can also be tough little pets.
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u/olagorie 3d ago
As a child, I really loved it when we went to my grandparents. The next (busy) town over had a huge roundabout in the middle of the city. With grass, big trees, really big. But massive car traffic around it all the time.
For two decades, they had plenty of bunnies living on the roundabout. Probably 30-50 at all times. People kept feeding them and they multiplied. And got run over by cars when they ventured out into the road again and again.
As a child, it was really magical and we always told our parents to go round and round the roundabout so we can watch the bunnies.
There was a big uproar when the city decided to kill them all and to not allow new bunnies to be released there. People loved those bunnies.
But… Most bunnies were in really poor health and they were also very inbred. They posted a series of articles in the newspaper with pictures of deformities that the bunnies had and interviews with the poor people who had to scratch dead bunnies from the road when they had been run over by cars.
Today as an adult, I can understand that while it was magical for me as a child the poor bunnies didn’t really have a nice life.
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