Comments on: Another Louisville rabbit crisis

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:22 +0000

I noted your email was “the12catlady,” so surely you’d appreciate if we were respectful of your cats in a similar manner once they’re no longer useful? Wouldn’t want to waste them.

By: jennifer

jennifer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:50:10 +0000

i’m not going to argue the condition of these rabits – cause i obviously didn’t see them…
but, if you have a simi-wild rabbit that got sick or injured and is suffering, the easiest and least stressfull way (for that rabbit and the whole colony) to “catch” it is with a rifle.
also, rabbits fill in the entrance to their own burrows – and often you won’t see them open again till a 3wk baby pops it’s head out. a filled in burrow usually means a momma has babys hidden inside… a shovel full or two of dirt would keep them out a whole of 5 minutes if they actually needed in.
and if the city came up to him and said ‘you have too many rabbits – they need to go.’ what exactly did you expect him to do with a colony of feral meat rabbits? sell them to pet stores? properly done, dislocateing the neck is very quick and causes instantanious death – plus it doesn’t pump the body full of toxic chemicals rendering the meat useless. at least let him harvest his rabbits to be done with them! i can’t imagine you “rescueing” nearly 80 rabbits by chaseing them around, causeing them stress, leaving young kits to starve in the burrows, and then killing – and wasteing -nearly ALL of the animals you were supposed to be helping.
i feel people should be more respectfull of the animals that must be killed – at least make their death usefull – and their meat appreciated!

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:36:29 +0000

There is nothing ‘natural’ about domesticated animals.

As far as the role of humans in the food chain, they are omnivores (please don’t start arguing about teeth shape and eye position and digestive tract alignment; you can argue herbivore and carnivore all day by the same data too), and therefore should be able to eat ‘anything.’ The only reason we differentiate a dog from a rabbit in Western culture is because our culture tells us one is a pet and one is ok to be livestock. Other cultures behave differently, but they aren’t any less human or misunderstanding their human role.

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:10:07 +0000

This site does more to harm animals than help them by supporting government intrusion and demeaning natural ways of keeping animals (as in this natural rabbit colony). You should be promoting the husbandry of animals in a natural setting and using them for fur and meat. It is their best hope for survival. Making pets of them or letting their breed die out in favor of purely commercial / industrial breeds is the shame.
Also, your example about dog-eating shows your ignorance of the food chain and nature. You show no understanding of the way carnivores, omnivores and herbivores interact in the food chain and you certainly seem to misunderstand the role of humans in that natural setting.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:07:56 +0000

I would have to side with the owner on this one. Those rabbits are there because there is food and water. They have shelter in borrows underground. If there was no food and water, the rabbits would just borrow under the fence and leave. In most “contained” rabbit colonies that I am aware of the borrows go well beyond the fence line, but the rabbits only surface within the fence for the security and the easy food and water.

Could he have done more? Sure, he could have shoveled the poop up to make it look nicer. He also could have built cute little houses, which the rabbits might use during the day, but would turn to borrows for safety anyway.

His crime, in my opinion, was not poor treatment of the animals. His crime was raising a colony of 80 rabbits in an urban area where it would affect the lives of his neighbors. The would be smell of course and concern from those who may not understand colony rabbits.

I believe there are city laws against maintaining a large quanity of livestock within city limits. This was likely the premise for removing the animals, not inhumane treatment. If this is the case, I agree that the law should be upheld and he should lose the animals.

Animal abuse? Not in an escapable yard, with double that much space undergound.

By: Dominic

Dominic — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:55:56 +0000

These rabbits should have been left to the owner. The bias in this article is astounding – it is no better to waste money and resources transporting these animals to the shelter just to be euthanized rather than letting the owner kill them on site and utilize them for his own meat. STupid beauracratic nonsense. Death by cervical displacement is less painful than death by injection – believing otherwise is a lie.

By: Amy’s Gripping Commentary » Cruelty roundup

Amy’s Gripping Commentary » Cruelty roundup — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:39:57 +0000

[...] also positive comments at the article from folks more of my mindset, and this is all much like the smaller scale crankiness that occurred on this blog as I documented our volunteer work during a similar [...]

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:26:56 +0000

My husband and I sometimes ride our bikes in this neighborhood. This had been going on for several years that we know of. We’ve purchased extra carrots and greens and thrown them over the fence in the past.

Yes, the conditions are actually worse than the pictures appear. The rabbits do not have access to food and water, and have extremely inadequate shelter. For those not familiar with the climate here, the summers are regularly dry and hot, with temps between 85-90 F. Spring and fall are rainy, and these rabbit sit under the little shelter that there is in the mud. It was obvious when we drove by that the rabbits had been fighting (damaged ears and coats). There have been times in the past where all the rabbits were suddenly gone – whether for food or prior confiscation, we don’t know.

Finally, this is in a neighborhood, not a rural area. I’m quite certain that the neighbors don’t appreciate the condition of the rabbits or of the yard – or the house for that matter. In fact, based on your post, it was the neighbors, whose quality of life and property values were affected, who complained – not a “busy-body”.

By: matt

matt — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:07:55 +0000

Animal use is not abuse…

By: Betsy Galper

Betsy Galper — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 01:23:27 +0000

I find many of these comments quite disturbing,and the disregard and disrespect for life saddens me.
Why doesn’t every animal have a right to humane treatment, whether or not the animal is going to be raised for meat, (regardless of my feelings about it)? We ought to be thanking these volunteers who care enough to spend their time helping with these horrible situations. So, a heartfelt thank you to the volunteers, and wishes for a peaceful New Year in which people show more kindness to animals and each other. I’m now going to go make a contribution to the HRS.