Letter: Please don’t dump domestic rabbits into the wild
I help rescue local dumped rabbits and just recently was contacted about a domestic bunny that had been found roaming and by the looks of it on his own for a while but luckily still alive. I told them what to do, donated a cage and they adopted the bunny out to a great family!
In the process of saving this rabbit, they were told to a) let the rabbit go, it will be fine or b) it is wild, let it go because it will die in captivity.
People have got to know the difference between a wild and a domestic rabbit. If you don’t. then please look up online pictures of wild and domestic rabbits. Jackrabbits, pygmy rabbits and cottontails are wild. They must not be in captivity unless with a wildlife rehab facility.
Domestic rabbits don’t do well at all on their own and I have found many deceased in my rescue calls. “Letting them go” is a death sentence unless in a colony that is being fed by a responsible caretaker.
Please research before you give bad advice or make a bad decision. Domestic rabbits are pets. They need to be cared for like any other pet does.
Darcy Sherman, Kennewick
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Letter: Please don’t dump domestic rabbits into the wild."