West Fernie resident Kaida Wannamaker, 15, waded through excrement beneath a house to rescue bunnies that had been abandoned by their previous owner.
Over the last few weeks, Wannamaker and her mother Nycki have rescued two litters of young rabbits dumped in different locations across Fernie.
The first, a litter of five juvenile rabbits, was left with their crates, a homemade rabbit hutch and a month’s worth of food at James White Park two weeks ago.
Wannamaker spent a week trying to trap and catch the rabbits by hand.
On Sunday, May 10, Nycki and her husband came across yet another abandoned litter comprised of five baby bunnies and their mother at 64 Eckersley St. in West Fernie.
“I was heading out for a picnic when I saw their crate nestled amongst the tree and they eventually took shelter beneath the porch of the house,” said Nycki. “These weren’t just someone’s barn bunnies let go, they were well loved and they were dumped deliberately.”
Nycki said she suspects the rabbits were remnants of seasonal sales for Easter bunnies as both dump sites shared the same characteristics.
“The same food, same crates and same set up was left with both litters,” said Nycki.
She added, “People need to realize that even if they can’t take care of these pets themselves, they can’t just be abandoned or dumped. There are more responsible ways to handle this kind of situation.”
The Fernie Pets Society and Barkside Pets have stepped in to help with the fixing and re-homing of the bunnies.
“We do not re-home animals without having them fixed, so we will be helping to spay and neuter these rabbits through the Fernie Pets Society’s emergency fund,” said Barkside owner Maren Esch.
To offset fixing costs, Esch said that anyone interested in adopting one of the rabbits will have to pay an adoption fee.
Esch noted the significance of dumping rabbits in a public place.
“It may seem small, but abandoning these rabbits in town in a park could disrupt the entire ecosystem,” said Esch. “It could bring in coyotes, it could disturb other herbivore species in the area and not to mention an explosion in the population.”
For those interested in adopting the bunnies, contact Barkside at 250-423-4332.