Community | March 26, 2010 | 31 comments

Deadbeat Bunny "Owners" Have Campus Hopping Mad

source: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local-beat/Campus-Bunny-Boom-89266892.html

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EthicalVegan
There's no simple carrot-and-stick solution, but a caring home would be nice
By JONATHAN LLOYD
Updated 2:01 PM PDT, Fri, Mar 26, 2010

The bunny boom at Long Beach City College has come to this.

Furry-ous campus officials posted signs that make it clear: "RABBIT DROP-OFFS ARE PROHIBITED ANYWHERE ON CAMPUS... PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE RABBITS AT LBCC."

The smaller print: "Long Beach City college is NOT a sanctuary for rabbits or any other domestic animal. Anyone who abandons an animal is subject to a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail."

It goes on the mention California Penal Code Sec. 597S, to be known from now on as Thumper's Law.

School officials said there were at least 300 rabbits -- at last count -- hopping around the campus' grassy areas. Knowing rabbits, that number has increased. That's a lot of digging and chewing, most of it resulting in damage to the campus' landscaping.

But the real threat is to the bunnies -- these rabbits were pets who became used to the domestic lifestyle. Things can get wild on a college campus.

"People are under the false impression that LBCC is a safe haven for rabbits so they tend to drop them off when they are no longer wanted as family pets," said Jacque Olson, a LBCC employee who has provided care for the rabbits. "Unfortunately, the rabbits live in unsafe conditions and are injured and preyed upon by predators because they were bred to be pets."

Veterinarians are attempting to spay-neuter the animals. Volunteers collect the rabbits, take then to the vet and become bunny foster parents after surgery.

"These bunnies are so happy and relaxed to be in a sheltered environment," Diane McClure, a professor of veterinary medicine at Western University, told the LA Times. "They deserve to have a forever home."

To adopt a bunny, first consider the consequences of adopting a bunny. If you're ok with that, contact Jacque Olson at jolson@lbcc.edu or 562-938-4370, or Donna Prindle at dprindle@lbcc.edu or 562-938-4356.


First Published: Mar 26, 2010 8:03 AM PDT
  1. groups:
    Community,   Webmash,   Veganism,   Voices of Advocacy,   1 more
  2. tags:
    Animal Rights,  Animal Protection,  animal exploitation,  Easter,  23 more
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31 comments // Deadbeat Bunny "Owners" Have Campus Hopping Mad

  • Kurta
    • -1
      Kurta  

    • I always get a kick out of things like this. It's sad though that this problem will no doubt end as irresponsibly as it started.

    • 2 years ago
  • 2helenahandbasket
    • +2
      2helenahandbasket  

    • "Veterinarians are attempting to spay-neuter the animals."

      LOL! You guys are ridiculous. I guess you expect taxpayers to foot the bill for it, too.

      Just like spaying/neutering feral cats or having 'no kill' shelters, you will NEVER get ahead of the animal population. It's just a feel-good effort. Your time would be better spent helping th human condition. Better, and much more humane, to simply get rid of all the excess animals before they overpopulate themselves and begin to die from disease and starvation.

      Check out Austrailia. Ask them about saving the bunnies.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • imunbalanced
    • -1
      imunbalanced  

    • It is immature to post pictures of rabbit dishes, but I don't think I'm a horrible person for thinking catching these animals to feed hungry people rather than catch/release and allowing them to disrupt the ecosystem is a great idea either. I went to TAMUCC; an island university- not as cool as it sounds, people would abandon cats there all the time. I love cats, but they have messed with the ecosystem on that island over the years.

      and seriously, what a fucking headline.

    • 2 years ago
  • pukemnukem
  • SarahAna
    • 0
      SarahAna  
    • pukemnukem:

      From your mongoose farm, release only the neutered/spayed mongooses so they aren't the new rabbits and maybe eat all the endangered snakes and bird eggs after the rabbits are gone.

    • 2 years ago
  • lionessgrrl
  • RaceBannon
    • +5
      RaceBannon  

    • here's the deal rabbits evolved to multiply at a fast rate to compensate for being vulnerable to predators as well as being able to eat anything to survive. In my opinions rabbits are fucking stupid creatures, no im serious as my sister put it the only reason rabbits exist is to be prey, simple as that. They are great at propagation and thats it, maybe absurdly cute however that is irrelevant. Well thanks to our meddling it seems they have a bunch of those things running around, and I actually think eating them would be better than mutilating them just because they're cute. We could breed wolves to go around the campus for cleaning things up, but ya know that would just make matters worse. So rabbit stew seems to be the only solution as adoption has clearly failed..

      Listen I love animals to death but I steer away from thinking with my heart, all life consumes energy to function even plants. Plants even compete with each other for survival so lets not make nature this benevolent force when its just the way our universe works. I think we will get to a point when we ourselves can engineer food that is nutritious and sustaining but for whatever reason we simply don't have that technology yet (can't eat only tofu). However even if we no longer kill to survive every living thing on this earth will continue still do the same.

    • 2 years ago
  • SarahAna
    • 0
      SarahAna  
    • RaceBannon:

      Usually I would be annoyed if someone said "EAT RABBITS!" like the post on current a week ago about how rabbits are sustainable sources of food. But I think you explained your view much better than someone posting a picture of a big pot of rabbit stew. I have a bunny, and he is insanely cute, so I wouldn't eat him. But eating them would be a better choice than catching them and giving them away to little kids who are probably going to get bored and want to set them free again!

    • 2 years ago
  • RaceBannon
    • 0
      RaceBannon  
    • SarahAna:

      i agree, we should try to treat life as something more than a toy. A rabbit isn't a guitar and you can't simply just stop being interested because it will either die or be released and do what its instincts drive towards which is eat & breed like crazy. If you want to own a pet by all means do so responsibly. I live in a city and its the same with stray cats, but being as no one really eats cats my recommendation would fall flat so now I live in a real life reenactment of heathcliff except its not nearly as funny as when I was a kid.

    • 2 years ago
  • Guyatthebusstation
  • bailey78
  • Guyatthebusstation
    • 0
      Guyatthebusstation  
    • bailey78:

      agreed, rabbit is delicious. Fried rabbit is awesome!!! Up until the 50's it was as common on a plate in America as pork or chicken. And a neat fact is a doe can produce 1000% (10x) its weight in food (offspring) a year. When raised in a back yard, you can give them a better life then any big agro meat, control disease and feed them what you feel comfortable giving them.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • SarahAna
    • +4
      SarahAna  

    • It is EXTREMELY expensive to spay/neuter rabbits. $300-500 because their skin is so thin, it begins to tear quickly when cut. I doubt that there'll be enough funding to pay for 300+ bunnies. Just sayin, I wouldn't know what to do with all of them.

    • 2 years ago
  • RaceBannon
  • SarahAna
  • 02
  • Mattchicago
    • +2
      Mattchicago  

    • there is another route, why don't the city come and pick up these bunnies and drop them off at a forest preserve or state park it would be a much better environment instead of just catch, spay and release method.

    • 2 years ago
  • Guyatthebusstation
  • EthicalVegan
    • -3
      EthicalVegan  
    • Guyatthebusstation:

      You just HAVE to continue being a sickening sub-human, don't you? What an empty life you must have. You act like a little child, and you're mean as they come, and neither is an attractive attribute. In fact, you're deserving of pity.

    • 2 years ago
  • Guyatthebusstation
  • bailey78
  • bailey78
  • EthicalVegan
  • SarahAna
    • +1
      SarahAna  
    • EthicalVegan:

      This animal, if dropped off as pet rabbits, would likely be the european rabbit, not an american wild hare (the little cotton-tailed rabbits here in the US are actually hares). The european rabbit would be considered invasive, although adorable.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
    • Image

    • http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/long-beach-community-college-rabbi...

      Rabbits overrun Long Beach City College
      March 25, 2010 | 4:27 pm
      The Easter bunnies are out in force at Long Beach City College.NO RABBIT Drop off sign

      The college's liberal arts campus, with its large grassy areas, has been a historical dumping ground for people who no longer want their pet rabbits. School officials, saying they've had enough, are starting a campaign to reduce the number of the furry creatures on campus.

      By the last count, taken several months ago, well over 300 rabbits were on the grounds, digging holes and chewing their way through thousands of dollars' worth of landscaping. But now, school officials fear the number of rabbits is even larger, given that the animals can produce up to 10 bunnies per litter every month or so.

      "Do the math and you get the idea," said Mark Taylor, the school's director of community and government relations.

      As part of the campaign, signs are being posted at the college and campus police officers will begin enforcing local codes that could result in a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail for anyone who abandons an animal.

      Veterinarians from Western University of Health Sciences are also working with school officials to spay and neuter the animals, school officials said. Campus volunteers will help collect the rabbits and take them to veterinary facilities and provide post-surgery care.

      DrMcClure Taylor said the college is also working with local animal rights activists to find people willing to adopt some of the rabbits.

      "These bunnies are so happy and relaxed to be in a sheltered environment," said Diane McClure, a professor of veterinary medicine at Western University. "They deserve to have a forever home."

      For more information about adopting a spayed or neutered rabbit, contact Jacque Olson at jolson@lbcc.edu or (562) 938-4370, or Donna Prindle at dprindle@lbcc.edu or (562) 938-4356.

      — Robert J. Lopez

      Photos: New campus warning signs; Western University professor Diane McClure helps care for one of the rabbits. Credit: Long Beach City College.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
  • EthicalVegan
    • -1
      EthicalVegan  

    • The bunnies have been there for decades. The only solution to control the population is to TNR (trap, neuter, release).

      Of course, if people would stop buying baby rabbits for their children, at Eastertime, then maybe hundreds less would end up being dumped on this campus.

      Rabbits notoriously multiply, and quickly, so again, TNR, TNR, TNR!

      If you live anywhere in the "greater" Los Angeles area, PLEASE consider adopting one or two of these neutered rabbits.

    • 2 years ago
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