We need to transport 300 rabbits from Victoria, BC, to Eastern Texas!
The BC Ministry of the Environment has finally granted an immediate permit to trap, spay/neuter and transport 300 of the University of Victoria feral rabbits to the Wild Rose Rescue Ranch, a large, awesome wildlife sanctuary in eastern Texas, but there is NO FUNDING for their transportation and the deadlines are extremely tight. We have to pick up and transport the first batch this coming week so we only have DAYS to put this together!
The deadlines and funding needs will be almost impossible to meet without a LOT of help!
It's taken a HUGE effort to save the rabbits from being 'culled' so far, but we're not done yet. The Fur-Bearer Defenders (aka Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals) have made available $50,000 for spays and neuters, but these funds are for spays and neuters only!! (If we can't transport the rabbits to Texas, the spay/neuter funds will be all for naught). Additional funds raised went to a small local sanctuary, but it's the Texas sanctuary that is mandated to take the majority of the rabbits. (An additional 700 will need to be transported in the coming months as well).
We need gather support, collect enough donations and make arrangements NOW for the first allotment, otherwise under the terms of the permit, any of the initial 300 rabbits not spayed/neutered and transported in the next two weeks will have to be returned to UVic where they can be killed immediately under UVic's feral rabbits management plan.
We Need…
- CASH DONATIONS TO COVER VEHICLE, FUEL AND OTHER TRANSPORT COSTS, FENCING AND OTHER EXPENSES!
- Temporary holding areas in WASHINGTON STATE! They need to cross the border almost immediately after the campus hands them over, so we need an area to hold them for a few days until they recover from surgery and we have vehicles to come and pick them up).
- Connections to individuals, groups or companies that would help move the rabbits from the US border to Texas
- Cages! Approved cages or carriers (they will be returned!)
- Transport to and from the Vets (Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland)
DONATIONS ARE BEING COLLECTED BY TRACS. (http://www.tracs-bc.ca/uvicbun.html) Please make sure you note in the 'special instructions to merchant' blank that it's for the UVic/Texas bunnies.
Contact Information:
The Responsible Animal Care Society
PO Box 26097, Westbank, BC, V4T 2G3
250-768-4803 (tel) ~ 250-768-4803 (fax)
info@tracs-bc.ca
