LI animal groups: Bunnies bought during pandemic abandoned, left to die

Long Island animal groups are seeing more and more domesticated rabbits abandoned in the wild — a move that puts the pets at serious risk of starvation, disease and death, animal advocates said.

The advocates link the influx of stray bunnies to people who likely adopted the pets during the pandemic and no longer wish to care for them. But domesticated rabbits can't fend for themselves in the wild, meaning they will likely perish if not rescued.

The Suffolk County SPCA investigated 18 cases related to rabbits in 2021, president Roy Gross told Newsday on Wednesday. Only weeks into 2022, the SPCA has three rabbit cases already, he said.

Over the summer, a couple abandoned approximately 50 rabbits in Manorville, Gross said. Of the dozens of rabbits, half were already dead when rescuers discovered them or died soon after. The animals didn’t run when approached by rescuers, which shows how little instinct they had to flee from potential predators since they were raised as pets, Gross said.

"People see rabbits out there [in the wild] and think they can survive," he said. "A domestic rabbit cannot survive. … They couldn’t even survive a couple of days."

The Islip Town shelter has observed an increase in stray rabbits found by residents in their backyards or at parks. The bunnies often are malnourished, injured or have parasites, said Teri Giacalone, the shelter’s director.

The shelter hosted 11 rabbits in 2020 and 15 in 2021. Due to the influx of rabbits and limited cage space, Giacalone said she has to turn away callers who want to surrender rabbits. Some rescued rabbits don’t survive medical treatment, but the ones that do are spayed or neutered before adoption to curb Long Island’s rabbit population. The Islip shelter has eight rabbits in its care as of Wednesday.

"It’s terrible," Giacalone said of the uptick in abandonment. "You’re supposed to take care of them for the rest of their life."

The shelter director said people believe that because domesticated rabbits live in cages, they don't require much care or attention. Bunnies require fresh hay, daily food and water and enrichment opportunities. Rabbits can be trained to use a litterbox, but if not, their cage needs daily cleaning, she said.

The Brookhaven Animal Shelter and Adoption Center has also noticed an influx of rabbits, town spokesman Jack Krieger said. To combat this, the town and shelter are "aggressively promoting their adoption" by waiving adoption fees for bunnies, he said. The shelter asks adopters to instead donate money to Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group, an organization that rescues bunnies.

If you find an abandoned domestic animal, including rabbits, Gross said to call a local shelter. If needed, the shelter will contact the SPCA to investigate.

By Brinley Hineman

brinley.hineman@newsday.com

Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.