TEAM PAWSITIVE!
A Letter From Gail Terry, Richmond Auto Mall, Concerning the Auto Mall’s Bunnies.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Thousands of abandoned pet rabbits and their feral offspring are populating many dangerous areas of the city of Richmond, BC, and none more dangerous than the Richmond Auto Mall.
With rabbits dying daily on the roads around the property and with many dealerships heading into a heavy period of construction, it has become imperative that these little critters are moved to safety immediately if not sooner.
RAM has identified properties these rabbits can go to and is willing to contribute towards their spays and neuters and help develop ‘rabbitats’ to house the bunnies. The Auto Mall has even arranged to donate a vehicle to the cause.
But much of the last year has been spent trying to navigate the politics of rabbit rescue and address the legalities.
A domestic pet rabbit is reclassified as wildlife as soon as he/she is abandoned. ‘Fluffy’ can’t be recaptured without a permit, and permit applications are only supported with a very, very narrow criteria and an awful lot of red tape.
The provincial government has repeatedly told us that their preference is that the rabbits are killed, and that is an option we will never support.
The Auto Mall, the various levels of government and the citizens concerned about the safety of the rabbits need to come together, pitch in, eliminate the red tape and move these rabbits.
The rabbits are a contentious political issue for both municipalities and the province, as evidenced by the recent media referencing the Corporation of Delta’s problems with their rabbit re-location efforts.
(see: http://www.southdeltaleader.com/news/170370116.html).
But with winter coming, the Auto Mall and the rabbits can no longer wait for the politics to sort themselves out, thus they will be moving forward by preparing the locations that have already been offered for these rabbits. RAM will also be putting out a call for homes to adopt these rabbits and land to host ‘rabbitats’ while concurrently working on permission to do so.
The Auto Mall is appealing to all animal lovers and nature fans to help with the relocation project.
To volunteer, adopt or donate, please call our BunnyHop Line at 604-273-3243.
or email we-care@richmondautomall.com or Rabbitats rabbit rescue at rabbitats@gmail.com.
Gail Terry
General Manager
Richmond Auto Mall Association