FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lejla Hadzimuratovic, Founder, Bunny World Foundation
info@bunnyworldfoundation.org, (310) 498-8600, www.bunnyworldfoundation.org
FEATURED VIDEO LINK:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/BunnyWorldFoundation/videos/360587330265448
Bunny World Foundation issues a plea to the Los Angeles community to help foster up to 100 rabbits confiscated by BWF and Los Angeles Animal Services from a backyard hoarding disaster in Granada Hills.
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 28, 2024) - Bunny World Foundation, an all-volunteer foster-based animal rescue that finds homes for hundreds of abandoned domestic rabbits each year, is struggling to single-handedly assist LAAS with up to 100 rabbits being impounded from a backyard hoarding situation near the West Valley Animal Shelter in Chatsworth.
On Feb. 20, 2024, the LAAS Animal Care Technician supervisor contacted BWF seeking assistance rescuing a large number of rabbits found on a private property in Granada Hills. On Feb. 24, the BWF team rushed to the scene and witnessed a massive backyard rabbit hoarding disaster with babies, nursing mothers, juveniles, and adult rabbits running across several yards, exposed to the elements and unprotected from predators. BWF trapped and sexed 50 rabbits that day and took them to the West Valley Animal Shelter. Most, if not ALL, females were pregnant. Among other ailments, many were severely matted due to long-haired breeds, which is extremely painful to rabbits. After the shelter staff processed the rabbits, BWF scooped up all the babies and placed them into temporary foster care. The adults have been spread out between the six city shelters as animal control continues to visit the property and confiscate more rabbits. How many females might give birth before spay appointments are unpredictable, but those pregnancies threaten to increase the number of rabbits exponentially to upwards of 300+.
BWF has communicated closely with the LAAS ACT, seeking solutions for injured rabbits and spaying veterinary resources.
"What a nightmare! I am extremely distraught having to witness yet another horrible backyard catastrophe,'' BWF Founder and President Lejla Hadzimuratovic said. "This was your typical situation where things got out of hand due to ignorance of rabbits' gestation period, which is 28 days. When will people learn that it only takes TWO UNFIXED rabbits to create a tragedy of mass proportions and impose a hefty financial burden on Los Angeles rescue organizations operating on zero budget? It's heartbreaking to see many painfully neglected and severely matted rabbits living in filth, exposed to hawks, owls, coyotes, raccoons, other wildlife, and harsh elements. These poor souls will need so much TLC before they can trust humans. Before any hopes of adoption, each will need medical care, spaying/neutering, vaccination, deworming, and professional grooming. To give you an idea, experienced exotic vets charge anywhere between $400 and $1,200 to spay ONE rabbit!"
On Feb. 27, 2024, BWF was contacted again by the LAAS ACT to assist with sexing the additional 30 rabbits impounded from the hoarding location, this time by animal control officers. BWF has not determined the number of additional rabbits left at the property expected to come to LAAS custody. The process may take weeks to resolve due to the mature system of underground burrows dug by the rabbits, with multiple litters quickly hiding underneath the house. This impound comes during a particularly challenging time, as local shelters and parks will soon be overrun with bunnies who will have nowhere to go after the spring breeding and post-Easter dumping season.
"Once we arrived at the scene, we worked diligently to trap and sex as many rabbits as possible. The bunnies we encountered were mainly adults, with many pregnant and potentially nursing females,'' said BWF Adoption Manager Jane Stonnington, a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant. "I can only imagine how many rabbits suffered in these horrific conditions and how many ended up dismembered by the predators. Domestic rabbits have NO business living outside. I am glad the homeowner contacted Bunny World Foundation and West Valley Animal Control. Unfortunately, the homeowner did not initially capture the first male and female when they were originally dumped on his property and have them spayed and neutered. The homeowner soon found out rabbits breed every 28 days, and litters get larger with every pregnancy.''
This is not our first time in the trenches. Since becoming an LAAS New Hope Partner in 2008, BWF has assisted with resolving several Los Angeles backyard breeding and hoarding situations. Among the most memorable were an inhumane 130-rabbit breeding operation in Sherman Oaks in 2014 and Mar Vista's horrendous 500+ hoarding/breeding operation in 2019 and 2022 by the same offender.
In 2022, BWF assisted LAAS by finding homes for hundreds of rabbits confiscated from the Mar Vista hoarding situation.
In April/May of 2023, BWF collaborated with LAAS during another mass confiscation of 70 rabbits from a backyard breeding operation close to North Central Animal Shelter, just a few minutes from downtown L.A.
With 300 rabbits in our ever-increasing foster system, BWF is still trying to find foster homes for all confiscated rabbits from this latest hoarding situation. LAAS does not have space to house many rabbits and to promptly provide safe spaying and neutering services. Due to overcrowding, many rabbits (especially males) who are put together may get injured from in-cage fighting. Each hormonal male requires one dedicated space for himself before neuter surgery and 30 days post-surgery. The hormones in males rage for a month after, during which time they can STILL impregnate female rabbits. Neutered males are neither adoptable nor bondable for at least a month post-surgery. They need safe foster homes to help with their journey.
"I am happy we could assist LAAS in cleaning up this disastrous hoarding situation. This was a great example of how quickly unspayed/unneutered rabbits can become overwhelming even with the best intentions and how important proper education and care is for domesticated bunnies."~Kiyo Beverly, BWF Adoption Events Host, Foster, and Volunteer
Those willing to foster or adopt rabbits are asked to email info@bunnyworldfoundation.org, with ``I will foster an LAAS bunny'' in the subject line.
Lejla, Kiyo, and Jane (BWF Volunteer/Rescue Team)
About Bunny World Foundation
Bunny World Foundation (BWF) is an ALL-Volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)3 animal welfare organization founded in 2008 in Los Angeles, California. Set up to promote (Shelter) Equity and Equality for Rabbits, BWF's mission is to combat animal cruelty, illegal animal sales, exploitation, and neglect of all animals through rescue efforts, public education, investigations, legislation, events, and media attention. In addition, BWF works to reduce rabbit overpopulation and establish rabbits as companion animals that deserve the same individual rights, level of care, and opportunity for longevity as cats and dogs that live as human companions. BWF manages a complex Foster & Adoption Program that requires constant strengthening and expansion to accommodate new rescues and provide intensive care, medication, supplies, and Spay/Neuter funds. BWF has 250 volunteers/fosters and rescues approximately 1,000-1500 abandoned and abused domestic rabbits annually. BWF has rescued over 16,000 rabbits in Los Angeles, ranging from un-weaned baby bunnies from Santee Alley to adult bunnies from the over-inundated city shelters.
More information about BWF can be found on our website and our Facebook page. The foundation welcomes all donations from the public. All proceeds go toward spay and neuter surgeries, vet bills, food, and other supplies needed to sustain the animals until they can find their forever homes at one of our weekly adoption events.
For more information about Bunny World Foundation, visit bunnyworldfoundation.org.
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FOUR Main Reasons WHY so many rabbits end up in shelters and on Death Row:
PEOPLE WHO BUY BUNNIES: When you buy a bunny, no matter where you buy that bunny from, you are supporting the breeders and the bunny mill owners. Please, never buy, always adopt; we promise you that whatever bunny you want, there is one waiting for you in a shelter or rescue today. If you have never adopted a bunny, then you have missed out on the most fantastic feeling it's that feeling of saving a life. Ask anyone who has done it, and they will tell you the same. That bunny will repay you with a lifetime of love and affection.
BREEDERS & BUNNY MILLS: Despite the massive overpopulation of rabbits in the U.S. and worldwide, the breeders and the bunny mills churn out bunnies 24 hours a day to make a buck -- or, in many cases, a LOT of bucks. The way to shut down the breeders and the bunny mills is simple—Adopt from your local shelter or rescue instead of buying from a pet store or breeder. BWF alone has every size, age, color, breed, and personality of bunny you can ever imagine. "RESPONSIBLE BREEDER" IS AN OXYMORON. What the world needs now is a MORATORIUM for breeders! PERIOD!
PEOPLE WHO SURRENDER BUNNIES: If you have kids, you make plans for them in case something happens to you. If you have companion animals, you must do the same thing; otherwise, they end up at the shelter with a kill date. If you cannot afford to keep a companion animal, then do not get one in the first place. Being a caregiver to a helpless animal is a lifetime commitment, not a disposable fashion accessory.
PEOPLE WHO FAIL TO SPAY/NEUTER BUNNIES: Failing to Spay/Neuter rabbits factors HUGELY into the overpopulation problem. Rabbits left unfixed will breed! Get your bunnies fixed because if you do not, you are on the path to leaving bunnies at the shelter with a kill date. Please don't breed or buy while shelter pets die.
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