A colony of several dozen rabbits has made their home in a conference room at the Humane Society of Cowlitz County.
Between 60 and 70 rabbits were surrendered to the humane society on Feb. 22 by a local family. Humane Society Director Darren Ullmann said the family started with a pair of rabbits who rapidly reproduced faster than they could find a home for the young offspring.
Ullmann said the influx of rabbits is unrelated to the incident in Puyallup in February where more than 240 rabbits were seized from a home during an animal control investigation.
“It’s not a case of ill treatment, it’s just overwhelming. This is what happens when you don’t spay and neuter your rabbits,” Ullmann said.
A group from Rose City Rabbit Rescue in Portland helped to sort the rabbits by gender, assess their health and provide the humane society advice on how to care for the new arrivals. Volunteers and employees have fostered some of the rabbits but around 45 are still living in pet cages at the humane society.
The rabbits were placed in the conference room to separate them from the noise of the dog and cat areas, which could stress them out. The shelter’s veterinarian is slowly working to spay and neuter the rabbits in between working with stray cats or other animals.
Female rabbits have a gestation period of around a month and can get pregnant almost immediately after giving birth to a litter, which allows them to reproduce rapidly.
The humane society is still asking for temporary foster homes for the rabbits or supplies like newspaper, pellet food and spare kennels. The agency will post on Facebook and their website when the rabbits are available for adoption.
“It’s different because they’re a caged animal. The husbandry is different to clean the cages, give them hay, things that we are not normally equipped to do,” Ullmann said.
While the number of rabbits is extreme, the bunnies are not the most unusual animal the Humane Society of Cowlitz County accepts. The group currently has a rooster and a guinea pig on site and frequently takes in livestock.
In the last few weeks, Ullmann said the society briefly took in an injured albatross and a pygmy owl before passing them along to a wildlife rescue group.
