Green Lake Rabbits

Last Friday, a story broke in Seattle about a rabbit relocation project sponsored by the Seattle City Parks Department. The story by a local television station alleges that poor conditions, disease and stress have led to the death of a number of rabbits. According to the story, the Animal Liberation Front has been blogging about the project and security has been stepped up around the rabbits' shelter.

We are personally familiar with the project which is why we are writing about it. It's also a good case study of an all-too-common scenario with rescue efforts.

Like many other communities, Seattle parks are the site of many animal dumpings, particularly the dumping of rabbits after the Easter season. These animals have a very high mortality rate, but those that survive breed and produce feral offspring. These offspring breed, and breed, and breed.

The trapping of rabbits in public parks serves several important purposes. First of all, the humane reason to trap and remove these animals is that they live miserable existences due to the irresponsibility of humans. There are no native rabbit populations in Seattle. They pretty much all result from the initial abandonment of domestic pets. Secondly, some of the rabbits, being ferocious eaters, actually pose an environmental problem by eating vegetation and altering their environment. Finally, there is a public health issue where there are large populations of animals with high mortalities. You may find rats and other scavengers congregating nearby to feast on their remains.

Anyway, the “planning” for this project began over a year ago. As far as I can tell, a group of rabbit rescuers got together and approached the City about rescuing and relocating the feral rabbits in Greenlake and Woodland Park. They got permission and then things fell apart.

The model for this project was a huge rescue project that occurred in Redmond, WA. That one had its major controversies too. One of the key people involved in Redmond was also involved in the Seattle planning. But some disagreements came up and she left the project.

Apparently, people kept leaving the project due to disagreements, particularly over the planning. At the end, the only rescuers left were a college kid named Mark Pilger and his fiancee. Not really experienced trappers or even experienced planners.

The trapping began in January and the rabbits were housed in an old chapel in Discovery Park (ironically, a park with its own rabbit problem, but not on the list of trapping locations), I spoke with Mark Pilger in the early winter. He seemed very disorganized, but seemed to have the basics down. He was getting volunteers, he had a good idea of caring for the animals, and he had vets signed on for spaying and neutering.

However, he had no real answer to the key question....where exactly are these rabbits going to go?

The original story was that they were all going to a federal sanctuary. Well, Mark said that wasn't quite right. They hoped to relocate about thirty maybe, but they weren't sure. Some might be adoptable. But, they really needed volunteers to come up with the solution for where the animals would go. Very hard pitch for volunteering, but we said no.

Number one rule in our household is don't volunteer for a rescue unless you know where those animals are going to end up. Otherwise, you end up with a bunch of animals in a hoarding or warehousing situation.

Unfortunately, that may be what is happening. I don't think these animals are being mistreated. I know a couple of the people involved as volunteers and I cannot believe they would continue there if there was mistreatment. But there is a problem with finding homes for these animals. It's been six months, there are about 100 animals in the chapel, and Mark Pilger is still trapping.

The deaths are not surprising. It appears that a virus circulated about and such things can spread quickly in close conditions. The death of two newborns is also not surprising, although unfortunate. Stress is a killer for animals that have no idea what is going on and are suddenly confined in small spaces.

I do believe that KIRO, the television station, has been very irresponsible on this story. I think it's the typical story of a disgruntled volunteer who is not happy about animal conditions, poor leadership, and no clear end game in sight for these animals. Typical for any rescue effort, but not unusual. If you look at the “evidence” posted with the article, it is pretty weak. Unfortunately, they presented the story in an inflammatory manner to suggest poor treatment. But I guess that's what the media does nowadays.

It's a good story of what NOT to do when you rescue. Plan where your rescues are going before you start rescuing. If you have a plan, then it's easier to lead, easier to accomplish and easier to finish what you started.