Two years ago to the day, we shared of a beaver who had somehow made his way into the wetlands of the Olympic Village. He was on his own and after a few days he disappeared, but there have been some new critters spotted in the same area who might make for more permanent residents. Rabbits!
I ran across this little dude through the fence of the dog park in the Village, hanging out in that swath of land that was once the city works yard but is now waiting to be developed. Food Cart Fest happens over there and Cavalia rented the space for a bit but mostly it just sits barren, and as a parking lot for some local car dealerships. There have been reports from residents that more than a couple rabbits have been seen roaming the area which, because it's so scarcely used by humans, could be the perfect breeding ground for urban bunnies. That is if the urban coyote that's also been seen in the area doesn't get to them before they have a chance.
Nature doing what nature does (the coyote eating them) would actually be the best case scenario here because as cute as they are, there's apparently no policy in place to prevent them from gaining traction in the urban wilds and becoming a nuisance and damaging private property in the area, such as the 3 community gardens within one block.
I called the City and asked what their policy was on rabbits, if there was one at all. Their response was that unless there were a whole lot of them causing trouble, or if the rabbits were attacking people (!!!), only then would they get involved. Same story when I called the SPCA: they deal with animals in distress and strays and they generally only pick up cats and bring them to their shelter; the City picks up dogs which they bring to Animal Control. Finally I called the BC Ministry of Environment to see if they had any insight on policy about urban bunnies, and they said they don't. I was told that even when UVIC had an insane bunny a few years back due to people dumping their pets there, the university itself had to bring in its own plan and spend its own money to get rid of them.
The future of the Olympic Village bunnies remains to be seen. Here's hoping the area doesn't become what UVIC did, because it could ultimately end up in the death of a whole lot of innocent lil' mammals. The best way for us to prevent this is to keep our pets! If you buy a bunny, keep him. Love that little cutie, keep them in your home and help them lead a long and happy life as a house bunny! If you can no longer keep him, call the SPCA and they can help you. Whatever you do, don't abandon them in a public place.
