Came across this article at rabbit.org….I apologize to the Canadian BB friends and anyone near by who might be tempted….but if there is anyway anyone would want to help out, i’m a bit too far but maybe someone is closer…
The Oromocto SPCA wants anyone interested in adopting an adorable angora rabbit to call after more than 100 of the long-eared animals were seized from a private home earlier this week.
The Daily Gleaner/Ray Bourgeois
Kari Poore, executive director of the Oromocto SPCA, holds an angora rabbit recently rescued from an Oromocto home. More than 100 animals were seized.
“I have 14 right now,” said Tracy Marcotullio, manager of the Oromocto SPCA, on Friday.
“When they were seized last week, there were over 100 of them, ranging in age from baby to adult.”
The animals were seized from a home in Oromocto on Monday, and the SPCA investigation is ongoing.
Marcotullio said the animals are in pretty good shape.
“We have certainly seen worse,” she said. “But we have also seen better.
“They do need to fatten up a little bit.”
She said it’s hard to take care of that many rabbits in one place.
“They have that long, long, long hair,” said Marcotullio. “They need to be brushed regularly.”
She said a lot of people think rabbits just eat pellet food. But rabbits need a diet of lots of different fruits and vegetables and vitamin C for optimal health, she said.
Marcotullio said angora rabbits come in different colours, ranging from Siamese to orange to brown, black, white and some that are tri-coloured. “As adults they have big ears,” she said.
“Some are lop eared so they have their ears down. They are quite beautiful bunnies.”
Marcotullio said angora rabbits are docile and easily handled.
“People have been in and out today visiting with them and they have done really well,” she said.
“Bunnies tend to be fairly good pets. You can litter train them like a cat.”
The Oromocto SPCA didn’t have room for more than 100 angora rabbits so other SPCAs around the region are helping out, including Moncton, Bathurst, Restigouche county and Prince Edward Island.
“The shelters in Nova Scotia have all been informed … to see if anybody can help us out,” she said.
The rabbits at the Oromocto SPCA are up for adoption now.
The adoption fee includes spaying or neutering, which makes them better pets, she said.
“The quicker we can adopt out the ones we have, the quicker we can make room to bring the new ones in,” said Marcotullio.
“We are hoping to have all kinds of people in to meet them and see if they are a pet that will fit into their household.”
The Oromocto SPCA is open on the weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and open until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 5 p.m. weekdays, and no appointments are necessary.
“We want to see droves of people coming in,” she said.
“We want our parking lot filled with people who want to meet with the rabbits.”
She said angora rabbits can be an appropriate pet for children, depending on their age.
“The best bet for people “¦ is come in, meet the rabbits, bring the kids and see how they interact,” she said.
Marcotullio said she can’t comment on the seizure and whether it was a case of a “rabbit mill.”
The investigation is being handled by New Brunswick SPCA animal protection officers, she said.