Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/florida-rabbits/

Rabbits have been taking over a Florida neighborhood, and volunteers with a rabbit rescue are finally stepping up to help!

According to NPR, a resident released lionhead rabbits in their backyard around two years. Since that time, the rabbits bred like – well – rabbits! And rumors have it there are at least 80+ lionhead rabbits running rampant now, though the exact number is hard to know for sure.

Attempts to rescue the bunnies from the Jenada Isle neighborhood were met with hostility in the past, as local residents didn’t seem to think the bunnies needed help.

Because of that, rescuers with the East Coast Rabbit Rescue called on police escorts to help when heading out to trap some of the rabbits.

In the end, they rescued 19 bunnies, including three females who were pregnant.

The rescue explained on Facebook, “We want to report that we rescued 19 bunnies from Jenada Isle early this morning. Technically 19 could easily turn into 30, as 3 females are pregnant. Two of them will most likely have their babies very soon. We spoke with the chief police Mr. Blocker and requested the presence of some police officers onsite as we knew it would not be an easy task. Mr. Blocker graciously sent 7 police officers to escort us and they witnessed that several residents were openly hostile as they did not want the bunnies gone.”

They went on to say, “One woman actually threatened to shoot us as we were walking in the street, and a heartless man was chasing a poor rabbit and hitting him with a stick, and finally a very angry man tried to disperse the bunnies each time we got near one, so that we could not catch them.”

There’s a common misconception that domesticated bunnies can thrive in the wild. As the rescue noted, “The poor bunnies were just barely surviving there, as they did not have proper food, they lacked a reliable source of clean water and they had no shelter for them to protect from the rain and hot sun. We rescued one very sweet boy with a severe wound on his face. Most of others had mites. One female has a purulent discharge coming from her vulva. We have already set up Vet appointment for her. In addition, one boy will need his incisors extracted.”

While they rescued 19 rabbits this time, a total of 56 rabbits have been rescued from the neighborhood so far.

You can see one of the rescue bunnies adjusting to her new life in the video below:

In an update, the East Coast Rabbit Rescue said they moved the 19 rescued rabbits to new playpens as they away another rabbit intake. They said, “We are planning to go back for another roundup. This time we will have a representative of most Florida rabbit rescues helping us to catch the rabbits. Many people have asked us how many rabbits are still there, and the answer is WE DO NOT KNOW.”

They added, “As you might recall we faced several issues with some openly hostile residents from this community, as some of them did not want us to rescue the bunnies. Several of them purposely scared away the rabbits when we approached them and threatened us. The situation did not turn violent because of the presence of several police officers, who will be escorting us again during our next roundup.”

While some of the rabbits are presenting health problems, the rescue is working to get them all the care they need with a veterinarian.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog