An unusual run of people abandoning domesticated rabbits in parks has Bay Area shelters hopping to get creative, and SF Animal Care & Control is waiving rabbit adoption fees for the month of August.  

It’s a sign of the times in this era, where people took on pets during the pandemic and then figured out they couldn't care for them, that there are new dedicated teams of volunteers who find and catch animals abandoned in Bay Area parks. One such volunteer team has been rescuing animals of an unusual and challenging nature, as KGO reports they’ve been catching domesticated rabbits in Golden Gate Heights Park, amidst a troubling trend of people abandoning bunnies in Bay Area parks. With so many rabbits being dumped in parks, they’re multiplying like, well, you know.

Animal shelters are noticing that sharp spike in abandoned rabbits. "Domestic rabbits should not be dumped into the wild,” SF Animal Care & Control field services supervisor Amy Corso tells KGO. “They are not wildlife. They won't survive for long on their own."

@sf_acc

We’re over capacity for rabbits: That’s a lot of cuteness! Their adoption fee is waived!

♬ Gorgeous - Taylor Swift

And so SF Animal Care & Control (SFACC) is dropping rabbit adoption feed for the month of August, as seen in their above TikTok that tries to capitalize on the recent Taylor Swift mania. “We’re over capacity for rabbits: That’s a lot of cuteness,” SFACC says in a Facebook Reel with the above video. “And the adoption fee is waived through 8/31. Hop on by this week!”

SFACC says some of those rescue rabbits have been at their shelter for months, drawing little interest from prospective adopters. The agency’s only option may be to euthanize those bunnies, as people are often more hesitant take on rabbits and their unique care needs that are more specialized than those of cats or dogs.

"Provide them space and attention and the right food,” volunteer rabbit-catcher Allison Yuen tells KGO. “Because we don't want people to take them on and then dump them again."

You can learn more about SFACC’s animal adoption program online.

Related: SF Animal Care & Control Is Getting a Reality TV Show [SFist]

Image: Aswathy N via Unsplash