Lionhead rabbits are taking over Jenada Isle, an 81-home neighborhood in Wilton Manors, FL. It’s led to a fight between officials and locals who disagree between exterminating the furry creatures or raising the funds to re-home them.
The cadre of rabbits, estimated to number between 60 and 100, are the result of an irresponsible backyard breeder. “One of the neighbors moved a couple years ago, and she just left the rabbits in the street,” Alicia Griggs, a real estate agent who is leading the effort to rehabilitate the brood, told The Tampa Bay Times. “They’re not spayed or neutered, so they started multiplying.”
Residents have long complained about the lionhead rabbits, who they say have riddled their yards with holes and chewed up expensive outdoor wiring.
In April, the city commission decided to move forward with executing the critters, mostly out of fear that they might wander into roadways and endanger drivers.
However, the city has given the animals a temporary stay of execution. Wilton Manors has allotted time for Griggs and a few other good samaritans to raise funds which would be used to capture, vaccinate, neuter, and re-home the rabbits.
“People don’t realize they’re exotic pets and they’re complicated. They have a complicated digestive system and they have to eat a special diet,” Griggs said. “You can’t just throw any table scraps at them.”
Griggs estimates that the project will require at least $20,000 to $40,000 in funding.
Lionheads face a particularly harsh reality in Florida. Their life expectancy of between seven and nine years when living inside is drastically shortened if they reside outdoors. They are susceptible to heat stroke once temperatures climb above 85 degrees, and a general lack of fear makes them an easy meal for predators such as Florida’s infamous Burmese python population.
Tracking and bagging the critters isn’t as easy as one might think. “Trying to catch one is very difficult. You need a lot of people. Specifically in this area, cause there’s so many,” a volunteer for Griggs told Fox 35 earlier this year.
Meanwhile, those living around Wilton Manors have taken a bit of a shine to the furry interlopers.
“People drive by, stop, love ’em, feed ’em,” said Gator Carter, a resident of Jenada Isles whose two grandchildren adore the rabbits. “They don’t bother me. We have a couple Airbnbs on the island here and the [guests] are just amazed that the rabbits come right up to them.”
Even Jon King, a neighbor of Carter’s who claims the rabbits have cost him hundreds of dollars in outdoor electrical repairs, can’t disparage the bunch. “I like them. I just wish they would go somewhere else,” King reflected. “Rescue would be great.”
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/JjPM4Lg
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