WILTON MANORS, Fla. – Dozens of bunnies are taking over a Broward County community.
Residents say a breeder illegally released some when she moved away a couple years ago, and nature has taken its course.
Now, the rabbits are overrunning everything, and one group is trying to rescue them rather than exterminate them.
Jenada Isles is the neighborhood in question in Wilton Manors.
Resident Alicia Griggs is currently caring for four of the bunnies because she fears they’ll be killed otherwise.
“Some people say (there are) over 100,” she said.
It’s hard to say exactly how many bunnies are making the neighborhood their home.
Griggs recalled that they were first spotted a couple years ago after the aforementioned neighbor left them behind.
“She dumped the rabbits in the streets without being fixed, and they’re multiplying,” Griggs said.
The rabbits in question are lionhead bunnies.
When seeing them up close, no doubt they’ll steal your heart, but not everyone wants them around.
“Other people don’t like it because the rabbits are digging holes in their yards,” said Griggs.
So what’s next for the domestic bunnies?
On April 25, the issue was brought up before the city commission, which ultimately decided on “researching and developing a plan pertaining to the bunnies,” according to an email to Local 10 from Wilton Manors spokesperson Aimee Adler Cooke.
Local 10 News reached out to the city regarding the bunnies, and Police Chief Gary Blocker said, “The safety of this rabbit population is of utmost importance to the city, and any decision to involve ourselves will be certain to see these rabbits placed into the hands of people with a passion to provide the necessary care and love for these rabbits.”
That’s what Griggs would like to see.
“They’re domesticated rabbits, they shouldn’t be living on the streets,” she said. “They were bred as pets, so they’re not the same as rabbits that you’ll see in the Everglades.”
Adler Cooke told Local 10 News that the police chief presented two options during the April meeting.
“While the police chief presented two options (a rescue operation to recover and rehome the rabbits costing roughly $11,400 for 60 rabbits, and another company provided a 12-month cost of trapping rabbits would be around $8,500, not including costs associated with rehoming them), the commission didn’t go with either option,” she said. “Instead, at the April 25 Commission Meeting, Commissioners directed the City Manager to research and develop a plan pertaining to the bunnies. The City then hosted a Community Outreach meeting on May 11 with residents and other interested parties, who ultimately decided that a partnership with a rescue organization that would humanely recover and rehome the rabbits was the best course of action.”
Adler Cooke said the city is still researching rescue organizations before determining which to partner with.
Griggs started a GoFundMe to help “rescue and rehome” the bunnies, and it can be found by clicking here.