A success story at the University of Victoria
Two thousand rabbits were estimated to be inhabiting the University of Victoria (UVic) campus at it’s peak. UVic initially paid $20,000 for a failed rescue/research program, then ordered a lethal cull. After the first 100 rabbits were killed, protests, injunctions, and provincial regulations delayed the project allowing rescuers to find sanctuary space and raise $125,000 (including a $50,000 grant for spays and neuters from Fur-Bearer Defenders).
The actual final tally was 1000 rabbits — the surviving 903 were all successfully re-homed. The majority of rabbits went to a sanctuary in Coombs, BC, on a property that had previously occupied by a petting zoo. Only additional fencing was required, and over 600 rabbits were cared for by one woman with limited assistance.
The project was funded for life (in advance) via donations, grants, and investments. 225 spayed and neutered rabbits were taken to an existing sanctuary in Texas and housed in a barn and purpose-built pens. 50 more UVic rabbits went to a family farm in Cowichan Station with a couple with small children and full time jobs who easily took the rabbits housed in a converted pig barn and run, no additional support was required. 50 joined a feral colony at a rescue in Washington State, no additional support was required.
An additional 50 went to another Washington sanctuary along with a one-time $5,000 donation. At least 300 hundred of the surviving rabbits rescued from UVic and Canmore have since been relocated to a doctor’s hobby farm in Alberta. Several entities wanting UVic rabbits didn’t get any either because of the arduous government process involved in getting a permit, or there were no more rabbits available.