Long Beach City College Rabbit Rescue
Bunny Bunch is at it again. For years we have wanted to help the hundreds of rabbits that have been dumped at the Long Beach City College. One thing or another always stood in the way, but this winter we were able to come up with a plan.
Because we are already overloaded with rabbits at the Burrow and in foster care we are not able to take on another few hundred. We rescue our rabbits from the high kill shelters and don't want to stop doing that, so we thought it would be best to spay and neuter all of the rabbits at the college and then release them back to living on the grounds at the college; at least that way the breeding would end.
Of course we do not suggest that rabbits live outside but thought this plan was better than none.
Over the last couple of months rabbits have been taken to our vets for spaying and neutering. This last week, rabbits were set up in a building on the campus so we could do health checks and get them ready for Western University’s visit to spay and neuter one hundred rabbits.
We are looking for more vets to work with us on low cost spay and neuter so we can finish all the rest of the rabbits, which we are guessing to be about two hundred.
People think that releasing their unwanted rabbit into a nice green field, golf course, park, or college is a nice way for a rabbit to live. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are domestic rabbits, not wild rabbits. It is illegal to abandon a rabbit at the college, or anywhere else for that matter. There is a $500 fine for anyone caught doing so.
Many of the rabbits are killed by predators, run over, or even poisoned. When a domestic rabbit is put into a group of rabbits living outside they will not accept him and will fight for territory which results in bite wounds, torn ears, and other injuries. There is often disease running within groups of rabbits living outside. We have found that at least thirty percent of the rabbits show signs of syphilis. Many have fleas and mites too.
We are treating the sick rabbits for all of the above. When we have caught all of the rabbits, they will be spayed or neutered and healthy before they are released.
We are also looking for people to adopt these rabbits. If you are interested please go to our website and fill out an adoption questionnaire, or email caroline@bunnybunch.org. Ideally we would like to get them all into homes if possible. We will have some of these rabbits for adoption at the Orange County Pet Expo in April, plus will be holding adoption events in Long Beach after Easter.
Thank you to Long Beach City college for providing funding for spaying and neutering, and allowing us to come up with a plan to take care of all the rabbits. Also, for letting us use a building to house the rabbits during this program. Thank you to Best Friends for providing temporary crates for the rabbits and sending supplies. Thank you to Western University for offering low cost spay/neuter for eighty rabbits and caring for them after the surgery and to the staff who donated their time. Thank you to the local rabbit vets for proving low cost spay and neuter. And a big thank you to Donna and Jackie who work at LBCC for being there for the rabbits over the years and through this rescue.
We have set up a fund to help with medical costs for the sick and injured rabbits. Donations can be sent to The Bunny Bunch LBBC Rescue, P.O. Box 2583, Chino, CA 91708.
If you are interested in volunteering with this project please email caroline@bunnybunch.org
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