TWO rabbits from a colony that have made Ridge Road their home in uMhlanga are now in loving homes, thanks to a planned capture facilitated by small animal advocate Stacey Quarmby.

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Quarmby, who is also a volunteer for 3Rs Rescue, captured one of the rabbits by herself on April 4. A tip-off from a resident who had spotted the bunny led her on a four-hour long search.

“I eventually captured the white rabbit which I was alerted about. After a few days I established she is a female and is possibly pregnant. She was underweight and looked sick so my priority is to nourish her and improve her health, especially if she is pregnant. I will be adopting her,” said Quarmby.

On Saturday, 30 residents joined in to search for more rabbits, including Raine Anderson the founder of 3Rs Rescue based in Hibberdene on the South Coast.

A male rabbit, who will be placed in a home soon, was found and is currently going through the adoption process.
“He was also not in good health and is currently on antibiotics and is being dewormed. Once that’s over he will be placed with one of the people who joined the search on Saturday,” she added.

Quarmby says the search is far from over and they now have a bigger problem on their hands – the rabbits which are still free are not sterilised and will continue to breed.

“One of the homeowners on Ridge Road said he has found three litters on his property, sadly all had died. Some died in the pool, some got stuck in the pool pump and the others were killed by cats,” she added.

“One thing we do know is that these rabbits were neglected. I hope now people can see just what a dilemma this has created. We have unsterilised rabbits breeding, their offspring being killed and the adult rabbits’ health deteriorating because they are not cared for,” she added.

Quarmby would like to offer advice on sterilisation to anyone who has a rabbit which has not undergone the procedure. She is also calling on locals to keep looking for the other rabbits.

“A huge thank you to everyone who came out to help catch the rabbits and a special thanks as well to the Ridge Road homeowners for kindly letting us onto their properties so we could safely rescue the rabbits. Taking care of and nursing these animals back to health costs money and right now, 3Rs Rescue organisation’s bank balance is at an all-time low. We appeal to anyone to assist with donations,” she said.

For more information on 3Rs Rescue or to make a donation, visit www.the3rsrescue.co.za. If you see the rabbits and would like to assist Quarmby with capturing them, email her on staceyquarmby@gmail.com.

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