CALDWELL, Idaho — Throughout the last couple of weeks, dozens of bunnies have been dumped at the Greenbelt in Caldwell. Domesticated bunnies cannot survive in the wild and often die horrible deaths. Several Caldwell residents and volunteers sprung into action to try to save these bunnies, but they fear with the incoming excessive heat and other factors that many of the bunnies won't survive much longer.
William Feese, a Caldwell resident, recently had heart surgery and walks the Greenbelt each day to get his daily exercise in. He was one of the first to come across the pet bunnies in the wild. "It started with me just feeding them. I couldn't believe how many there are out here," Feese says. He reached out to Misty Gillum, a volunteer with Remembering Ruby Rabbit Rescue, who jumped in to help care for two, dwarf baby bunnies and an adult bunny who ended up giving birth to four babies the following day.
Misty attempted to contact several local shelters, but most are overwhelmed and cannot accept additional bunnies. "It's a really hard situation right now. Our poor rescue world, including the bunny world, we're tired, we're exhausted," Misty says. "We're turning down 50-75 bunnies every 2-3 days." She found the bunnies dumped in Caldwell were previously neglected requiring additional care.
Even though some rabbits live outside, veterinarians say domestic animals will struggle to survive in the wild. They are at the mercy of predators, heat exposure and access to proper food. Without being spayed and neutered, the bunny populations can multiply rapidly. "At 5 months a bunny can have babies and they can have babies every 30 days. That's 300 babies in 1 year that a female bunny can have if she's not spayed or neutered," explains Debbie Aldrich, owner of Remembering Ruby Rabbit Rescue in Eagle.
She says they are always in need of foster homes for bunnies. If you come across a domesticated bunny in the wild, report it to animal control or a local shelter as the bunny could have pre-existing health issues. To get in touch with Remembering Ruby Rabbit Rescue, head to their Facebook page.
