THE GREAT UVIC RABBIT RESCUE!

Save the University of Victoria Bunnies!

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada


Special Thanks to the Fur-Bearer Defenders for the Spay/Neuter Budget that has Made This Rescue Possible.  

 

furbearers1.png

Please Support Them!

Thanks to the Pacific National Exhibition, Tisol, Martin Mills/Little Friends, World Park Foto, Arbutus West Animal Clinic, Shaughnessy Veterinary Hospital, Little Paws Animal Clinic, Carmina Gooch, Terry Roberge/Roberge Trucking, Jason Khaira, Cindy Howard, Best Friends Animal Society, Kathy & Michael Dohnalek, Samantha and the Bunnz, Suzannah Daniel, Sharon Samuels, Lynn & Darin Richie, Lorna Appleby, Jonine Lichtenwald, Event Star Services, Denise Quesnel, Angela Cotter, Judy Yates, Danuta Rogula and Susan Slywchuk
with a special shout out to driving forces Susan Vickery, Laura-Leah Shaw and Roslyn Cassells.
Also thanks to Christina Keats, RAPS, Homefinders/Hillary Wilson, Amy Tran, Shannon Tucker, Lizzy Gregson, the Surrey SPCA, VOKRA, Katie’s Place, Meow Aid and many more lifesavers!

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note: uvicrabbitrescue.com is a news source designed by rescue permit holder Sorelle Saidman to represent the UVic rabbits in general, reporting any news generated or submitted by the various rescue groups. These updates may or may not be approved by the groups involved. Contacting the groups or sanctuaries involved directly is advised for media wishing to cover this story.
For further information, contact uvicrabbitrescue@telus.net.
 
 uvic bunny strip
  
 
    
US Funds                           CAD Funds
       
The above buttons are for a general UVic Rescue fund via Rabbits Online. Please specify in the comment field how you would like to see the funds directed.  

This link goes directly to the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary Paypal account, a 501 (c)(3) charity, thus contributions from Americans and Canadians earning US income will be tax-deductible and a receipt will be issued by the sanctuary. See this LINK for other ways to donate to this fund.
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RABBIT REPORT

June 30th, 2011

 

Texas Troubles Mean Tough Times For UVic Bunnies

06-30-11

 

The 230 rabbits rescued from the University of Victoria campus in Victoria, BC, are facing tough times thanks to a fight with city hall.  The rabbits are being housed at the Wild Rose Rescue Ranch in Whitehouse, Texas, which recently passed a new ordinance to limit the number of pets allowed within the city limits, where the 50-acre property resides.

The city did not have a problem with the rabbits, housed in large, secure pens, but wanted the ranch to reduce its population of dogs, horses and other animals.  The owners have been forced into litigation over the matter.

The already-limited budget has consequently been drained by the costs.

The rescue organizers, TRACS For Texas Bound Bunnies in Westbank, BC, and the ranch managers are putting out a desperate plea for funds for rabbit food and hay.

Can you help?

To donate by cheque, please make the cheque out to TRACS and mail to this address:

The Responsible Animal Care Society
PO Box 26097, Westbank, BC, V4T 2G3
778.754.5522
All donations over $5 are tax deductible.

Canadian donations can also be made using the ‘Donate’ button on the TRACS website:

http://www.tracs-bc.ca/uvic-rabbits.html

US Donations, which are IRS-deductible, can be made directly to the Wild Rose Ranch:

Wild Rose Rescue Ranch
P.O. Box 278
Whitehouse, Texas 75791
(903) 253-6147 or (903) 839-8948

Online donations can be made on their website.

www.wildroserescueranch.com

We have come so far, thanks to donations from generous rabbit lovers.  All totaled, over 900 rabbits have been handed over by trappers, spayed/neutered and transported to sanctuaries.

Now all we have to do is feed them!

Please help!

 
RABBIT REPORT
April 9th, 2011

UVic Rabbit Rescue Wrap Party and Yard Sale Set for Saturday, April 16!
4-9-2011
 

pre-Easter Bunny Fest!

UVic Rabbit Rescue 

YARD SALE and UVIC RABBIT RESCUE WRAP PARTY

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

11 AM to 3 PM

 Tisol Pet Nutrition and Supply Store

3033 Grandview Highway

(near Renfrew on the Grandview Hwy in Vancouver)

Photobucket    Photobucket

It’s the Year of the Rabbit, almost Easter and a wrap for the UVic Rabbit Rescue!

A celebration is a must!

It’s the final goodbye for the last of the UVic bunnies who head to their new home in Washington State next week.

Come meet some UVic  bunnies  (or at least their offspring), giant Easter rabbits and other furry friends.

Bring your own pet rabbit!  Dr. Uri Burstyn from the Arbutus West Animal Clinic will be conducting health checks (by donation) and the Right Touch Mobile Massage Chair will be on hand for the humans!

Yard sale items include bunny cards, art, crafts, posters, ornaments, fine china, stuffies and other toys, glassware, knickknacks, jewelry, kitchen items, small furnishings, electronics, books, CDs, DVDs and much much more!

Material on rabbit care, ‘Rabbitats’, rabbit advocacy and rabbit adoptions (manned by Homefinders) will also be available.

Thanks to the Fur-Bearer Defenders, Martin Little Friends Pet Food, the Arbutus West Animal Clinic, Tisol Nutrition and Supply, The Pacific National Exhibition, Staples, Shaughnessy Veterinary Hospital, World Park Foto, Best Friends Animal Society, the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary, Kathy and Michael Dohnalek, EventStar Services and many many others!


RABBIT REPORT 
April 7th, 2011

Rabbit Transport Date Set For Washington State Sanctuary
4-7-2011

It’s the final goodbye for the last of the UVic bunnies as 50 rescues head from the Pacific National Exhibition Fairgrounds in Vancouver to their new home at the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary in Sequim, Washington, Wednesday, April 20th.   

The 50 remaining rabbits are the tail-end of a rescue effort that saved the lives of 902 of the 1000-plus abandoned pets or their feral offspring scheduled for extermination by the University of Victoria campus in Victoria, BC..  (One hundred and four were euthanized before the rescue began). Three different rescue groups represented sanctuaries in Washington State, Texas and Vancouver Island.

Precious Life Animals Sanctuary co-founder Ralph Turner will be the primary chauffeur for the final group, arriving early Wednesday morning to help the Vancouver-based rescuers load the bunnies up for the four-hour drive to Sequim.  The rabbits will spend a day or two in a holding area on the property before being transferred into their new half-acre enclosure -- just in time for Easter! 

The Canadian rabbits will be co-existing with bunnies rescued by the sanctuary in conjunction with the City of Seattle in 2008.   

The UVic campus is now rabbit-free and the University will be destroying any new rabbits found on the grounds (in spite of the willingness of rescue groups to take them). 

The campus rabbits are considered wildlife by the Ministry of the Environment and not eligible for adoption but their offspring born in captivity while awaiting rescue will be at the event and looking for homes and donations under the auspices of the Homefinders rescue group. 

To help send them on their way, the UVic Rabbit Rescue group is having an Easter Bunny Fest Fundraiser Wrap Party and Yard Sale on Saturday, April 16th in the parking lot of the Tisol Pet Nutrition and Supply store at 3033 Grandview Highway in Vancouver from 11 AM to 3 PM. 

 

RABBIT REPORT 
March 31st, 2011

GOAL: $2500 - DONATED: $1250!! - WITH MATCHED FUNDS = $2500!!! 

THANKS TO DAN AND THERESE OF WORLD PARK FOTO FOR THEIR $1000 MATCHING DONATION!!  AND THANKS TO THE DONORS FOR THE FUNDS TO MATCH!!  THIS MONEY WILL GO TO THE PRECIOUS LIFE ANIMAL SANCTUARY'S ATV FUND!  (SEE STORY BELOW). 

 

RABBIT REPORT 
 
A report in the Times Colonist confirms that the University of Victoria administrators are intending to kill any rabbits wandering or placed onto their property in spite of the willingness of all three rescue groups to take more rabbits.  A total of 902 rabbits were handed over to rescuers from late summer through to early January, including the final 54 currently housed at the PNE and tagged for the Precious Life Sanctuary in Sequim, Washington.  Laura-Leah Shaw took possession of 290 rabbits with roughly 250 going to the Wild Rose Rescue Ranch in Texas and forty to the Rabbit Haven in Gig Harbor, Washington.  The remainder stayed on Vancouver Island with the bulk going to a sanctuary in Coombs, BC, courtesy of Susan Vickery's EARS group.  
Although the population was initially estimated as high as 1600 in the summer, the colonies were decimated by hawks and other perils over the fall and winter.

RABBIT REPORT 
February 1, 2011

Martin Mills Donates Little Friends Pet Food!

Canada's own Martin Mills has donated 400 pounds of Little Friends Rabbit Pellets to the UVic bunnies at the PNE!  The donation was at the request of rescue organizers and the UVic bunnies themselves, both of whom are big fans of the company's extruded rabbit pellets, which promote dental care as well as gastro-intestinal health.  The company markets both an alfalfa pellet for young, active bunnies, and a timothy-hay based feed for adults. 
To quote from their website:  
LITTLE FRIENDS feed is produced by a technique called "Extrusion". With this method, the ingredients are cooked, expanded and formed under high temperature and pressure. Extruded food has an advantage over pelleted food because it creates more durable pellets. 



In addition, extrusion makes more of the starches digestible so less starch gets into the large intestine to be fermented by the bacteria. Together, this means there is less chance of your animal getting diarrhea when eating "Extruded" foods.
 
 

RABBIT REPORT 
January 24, 2011 (updated)

Donation Drop Off Day and Open House Set For Sunday at the PNE!
1-24-2011
 
Come Meet the UVic Bunnies, January 30th from 11 AM to 3:30 PM at the PNE Barn!

Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit! 
Sunday is Donation Drop-Off and Information Day For the UVic Bunnies at the PNE 
COME SEE THE RABBITS AT OUR OPEN HOUSE (Open BARN?) 
DATE: Sunday, January 30th 
TIME: 11 AM to 3:30 PM. 

We will be collecting bottles and cans and donations of all sort. (Please see our Wish List below). 
All things rabbit will be for sale including bunny cards and other art, trinkets, DVDs, books and more to celebrate the year of the rabbit.
Ralph Turner from the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary will be on hand to talk about the bunnies’ pending new home in Sequim, Washington. 
Information and petitions protesting UVic’s recent decision to kill any bunnies remaining on campus after March 1 will be available.
Representatives from Rabbitats Canada will share their plans for ongoing abandoned and feral rabbit rescue.  
Information tables will be set up for the UVic rescue and rabbits in general. 
A rescue group will be on hand to answer questions about adopting rabbits as pets. 
(Note that the UVic rabbits will not be up for adoption, but there is no shortage of rabbits needing homes). 
Dress warm, it can get chilly! 
Cars can enter the PNE through Gate 2 which is the first gate off Hastings Street on Renfrew, or Gate 6, the second gate. Parking is free. 
The ‘Barn’ is adjacent and to the east of the Agrodome. Visitors will be asked to park and enter the structure from the south side (the Hastings side) which is the red side of the barn. (The north side across from the racetrack is olive green). 
Hope to see you there!

Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket
1)  PNE Barn - south entrance (use for the Open House)            2)  aerial view of the barn            3)  northeast entrance (if you see this, swing around to the back) 
 
WISH LIST 
(UPDATED 01-24-11)

Carriers! - cat and dog hard shell travel carriers (even broken ones).
Exercise Pens!! – donated or loaned (to separate multiple groups of rabbits)
Bottles and Cans for Recycling
Bunny Arts and Crafts - for pending fundraising event
Drivers - transport rabbits and supplies 
All-Terrain Vehicle (4-wheel drive utility workhorse)
Rabbit pellets – all brands welcome, especially Martin Little Friends and large bags of bulk pellets from Tisol
Bales of Hay - bales of timothy and/or other grass hay, can contain a small amount of alfalfa)
Litter – pine pellets (horse stall or wood stove)
Tree Branches - pesticide-free, dried apple, pear, willow or birch
Feeding Dishes - large heavy crocks for water and pellets, and/or pet feeders
Cat Grass - oat or wheat grass in large trays
Fresh Produce
Brooms and Dustpans
Litter Boxes
Plastic Cages Bottoms - to be used as large litter pans
White Vinegar
 Peroxide
Rubber Gloves
Rubbermaid Storage Bins
Newspaper
'Bunny Forts' - creative play areas made from cardboard boxes and tunnels
Plywood, Fencing and Building Supplies
Storage
Vet Care - exams, prescriptions including Revolution, Advantage, Metacam and Panacur
 
=========
$ CASH! $
=========
PLEASE CONTACT UVICRABBITRESCUE@TELUS.NET FOR MORE INFORMATION
 
RABBIT REPORT 
January 23, 2011

A petition has been started by the TRACS For Texas group protesting UVic's intent to kill more campus rabbits.  
They're looking for at least 5000 signatures by Valentines Day, please sign it! 


RABBIT REPORT 
January 21, 2011

New Rabbitats Rescue Group Proposes Alternative to UVic Cull
1-21-2011

The rescue group responsible for the UVic rabbits currently housed at the Pacific National Exhibition is proposing an alternative to the just-released University of Victoria Feral Rabbit Management Plan.  The University amended its original plan on Thursday (January 20) which called for the campus to allow 200 rabbits to remain on the grounds after turning over the rest to rescue groups.  They now say that all the bunnies will be cleared from the campus and any rabbits found there after February 28th will be euthanized.

Rabbitats Canada believes that the abandoned pets and their feral offspring can be safely, securely and happily housed in a number of small 'rabbitats' built in conjunction with animal shelters, pet rescues, institutions or on private land under the care of responsible citizens.

Rabbitats Canada is an association being formed by Sorelle Saidman, who runs the www.uvicrabbitrescue.com and currently holds a permit to possess and transport up to 160 rabbits to the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary in Sequim, Washington (www.preciouslifeanimalsanctuary.org), and Carmina Gooch of the Rabbit Advocacy Group of BC (www.rabbitadvocacy.com).

A ‘rabbitat’, based on a sanctuaries designed and built by Quan Myers of the Maine, USA-based Rabbitats For Humanity, can provide safe, affordable colony housing for anywhere from six to 60 sterilized rabbits.  The designs vary but they all incorporate similar elements that make them 100% escape proof and 99% predator-proof and will be readily approved by the Ministry of the Environment and fall within the laws of the municipalities they are housed in.  

The organization will also strive to educate new rabbit guardians on low maintenance and sustainable care.   

The initial response to this proposal from people tentatively interested in housing small numbers of the rabbits has been strong.

Controlled rabbit populations can replace feral colonies.

Rabbitats Canada has entered the Pepsi Refresh Contest, which will be voted on by the public from now until the end of February. People wishing to support this idea can vote daily by visiting http://www.refresheverything.ca/rabbitatscanada

!! URGENT ALERT !! 
RABBIT REPORT 
January 20, 2011

UVic Releases Report Stating They Will Kill The Remaining Rabbits!!
1-20-2011
 
Rabbits found at the University of Victoria after Feb. 28 will be killed under a new, get-tough plan for a bunny-free campus

Read more:  UVic wants to get rid of all rabbits at its campus 

RABBIT REPORT 
January 19, 2011
 
Pepsi Contest Grant Application Hopes To Solve Feral Rabbit Problem
1-19-2011
 
UVic rabbit rescuers under the moniker RABBITATS CANADA have applied for a Pepsi Refresh Canada grant to help fund a humane solution to the contentious feral rabbit issue.   The group  believes that the abandoned pets and their feral offspring can be safely, securely and happily housed in a number of small 'Rabbitats' built in conjunction with animal shelters, pet rescues, institutions or on private land under the care of responsible citizens.
 
  RabbitatCHS1 small    Rabbitat1 small
 
rabbitats
 

 The full proposal can be seen here: 

Rabbitats Canada Proposal

RABBIT REPORT 
January 15, 2011

Latest Texas Trip Detailed!
1-15-2011
 
Rescuers Laura-Leah Shaw and Kathleen Terrio recently made a fourth trip to Texas in a rented van full of bunnies, and you can check out their adventure here: 
http://www.tracs-bc.ca/uvicbun.html
 
RABBIT REPORT 
January 5, 2011
 
Sequim Gazette Publishes Story on the UVic Rabbits  
1-05-2011
 
 
Thanks and congratulations to reporter Matthew Nash of the Sequim Gazette in Sequim, Washington, for a complete and accurate story (other than the rabbits are being housed at the PNE in Vancouver, BC, not Victoria). A great effort went into this piece.  Also note that at this point there is no other sanctuary able to take this allotment of UVic rabbits.  Under the terms of the Ministry of the Environment permit, the rabbits must be returned to UVic should the support not reach the needed levels.
 
 
sequim gazette precious life turner   
 Co-owner Ralph Turner poses in front of the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary's rabbit enclosure
 
 
 
RABBIT REPORT 
December 30, 2010
 
Year Ends With Over 800 Rabbits Rescued From UVic! 
12-30-2010

Over 800 rabbits have now been removed from the UVic campus courtesy of a total of five rescue groups working on the massive project.  The last group of rabbits was handed over by UVic trappers to the latest permit holder, Sorelle Saidman who will be overseeing their spays/neuters, recovery and transport to the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary in Washington State.  Saidman has been working closely with Carmina Gooch from the Rabbit Advocacy Group of BC on the Precious Life effort and has also been assisting Laura-Leah Shaw who holds the permit allowing her to transport rabbits to the Wild Rose Rescue Ranch in Texas. 
Permits must be granted by the Ministry of the Environment in order to possess and transport the UVic rabbits, classified as wildlife.  Saidman can legally possess up to 160 rabbits while Shaw can transport up to 1000 to Texas, but those numbers are hypothetical.  The true count is limited by the resources and pubic support offered to the various groups.  Current projections put the Precious Life number at 75 or less with just over 300 for Texas.  Over 500 rabbits have been taken by permit holder Susan Vickery or EARS (Earth Animal Rescue Society) who has them housed near Coombs on Vancouver Island.  Vickery, the first rescue on the scene, saw support to the tune of over $100,000 when the rescue started last spring, including a life-saving $50,000 spay/neuter budget from the Fur-Bearer Defenders accessed by all the groups (but now close to depleted given the number of rabbits rescued).  Vickery has been plagued by a bunny break-out and ongoing complaints from disgruntled neighbours.  
Another Vancouver Island permit holder in the Cowichan Valley took roughly 30 rabbits in the summer. 
All the groups will now be faced with years of continuing costs for food, vet care and property maintenance and other expenses.
 An estimated 200 rabbits are left on campus.  The ranks, estimated at 1600 earlier this year, have been depleted by natural deaths including a large number succumbing to an influx of hawks and owls.  
The campus administrators are expected to release a revised management plan in the new year.
  

Making TRACS For Texas:  On The Road Again! 
12-30-2010
(Courtesy of http://www.tracs-bc.ca/uvicbun.html)
 The fourth batch of UVic bunnies crossed the Canada-US border today en route to their safe sanctuary at the Wild Rose Rescue Ranch in Texas!
Laura-Leah Shaw, the permit holder for the Texas group, is the sole driver on this long trip through a northern winter to a relatively warm Texas one, which will no doubt delight the bunnies. She is accompanied by Kathleen Terrio, a University of Victoria professor who will keep her company and help look after the rabbits in their carriers. They will arrive at their Texas destination early in the Year of the Rabbit, 2011!
Please help to support this amazingly heroic animal welfare effort by donating whatever you can to cover fuel and van rental transportation costs, along with the costs of building another safe and roomy pen for them at their destination. We will also need to support their maintenance for the rest of their lives (10-15 years), including food and veterinary costs. Start the Year of the Rabbit in the right spirit (see this link for donation details).
For a recent Saanich News interview with Kathleen Terrio, the reasons for her involvement with this cause, and her experiences on the previous trip to Texas, see this Saanich News article.
Watch for upcoming fundraisers also. Our last fundraiser was held on the Winter Solstice at the Overleaf Cafe to a packed audience. More exciting events to come, including a bunny ballet with original choreography and a belly dance performance, and more.

Wild Rose Rescue Ranch enclosure, Whitehouse, Texas
 
RABBIT REPORT 
December 29, 2010

The Province Pleads Our Cause! 
12-29-2010 
 
Jen Saltman from the Province daily news in Vancouver has written a great article about the rescue's need for more support! 

 
Another UVic Bunny Group Makes It To The PNE 
12-29-2010
 
Twenty more UVic rabbits were trapped and handed over to the UVic Rabbit Rescue Group today for eventual transport to the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary in Sequim, Washington.  Only 19 ended up making the journey to the PNE fairgrounds in Vancouver, where they are being housed for the next month or two, however.  One big black rabbit preferred to stay in the neighbourhood and bolted.  Remarkably, the escapee was only the second rabbit to successfully 'take a powder' out of over 800 trapped and transferred.  (If you see him, please let him know he's missing out on a great time!) 
 


RABBIT REPORT 
December 27, 2010
 
Funds, Vet Care, Supplies Needed To Complete The UVic Rabbit Rescue 
12-27-2010 
 
 The latest UVic rabbit rescuers are struggling to amass the funds needed to complete the journey that will see hundreds of rabbits settling into new homes in Washington State and Texas.
The Precious Life Animal Sanctuary in Sequim, Washington, still needs to purchase an all-terrain-vehicle to transport food and water to the enclosure where they plan on housing the rabbits.  They are hoping the equipment can be at least partially donated.   
TRACS For Texas-Bound Bunnies still needs to transport dozens of rabbits to the town of Whitehouse, Texas, and are looking for donations of gas cards and cash.
Meanwhile medical costs are much higher than anticipated.  Veterinarians have been offering substantial discounts to the UVic rabbits but they are not donating their services.  The bill at one clinic alone has totaled over $2000 in addition to the costs of the spays and neuters paid for by the Fur-Bearer Defenders Fund. 
And now least six of the last 35 rabbits trapped by UVic have medical issues requiring extra veterinary care that will cost thousands more dollars. 
Transportation costs including truck rental, fuel and ferry fees for the multiple trips from Victoria to Vancouver alone have already cost in excess of $1000. 
The rabbits bound for Washington are currently being housed at the PNE in central Vancouver and cared for by a small army of volunteers.
Tisol, the BC-based pet nutrition and supply store chain, has donated 10 bags of rabbit pellets but more food and other supplies are desperately needed. 
Tisol has offered to take donations on behalf of the rescue.  Most of the items on the following ‘wish list’ can be dropped off at any Tisol store (Burnaby, South Burnaby, Richmond, Langley, South Surrey and Main and Arbutus in Vancouver), although large or perishable items should be left at the Grandview store 
(3033 Grandview Highway). 
 
  Photobucket   Photobucket  Photobucket  

WISH LIST 
(UPDATED 12-30-10)

Exercise Pens!! – donated or loaned (to separate multiple groups of rabbits)
Drivers - transport rabbits from the PNE to the vets 
All-Terrain Vehicle (4-wheel drive utility workhorse)
Rabbit pellets – all brands welcome
Bales of Hay - bales of timothy and/or other grass hay, can contain a small amount of alfalfa), also Straw
Litter – pine pellets (horse stall or wood stove)
Tree Branches - pesticide-free, dried apple, pear, willow or birch
Feeding Dishes - large heavy crocks for water and pellets, and/or pet feeders
Cat Grass - oat or wheat grass in large trays
Fresh Produce – heads of lettuce, kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, beet greens, chard, collard greens, carrots, fresh carrot tops, apples, pears, berries, parsley, cilantro and other herbs are some of the favorites
Cat or dog hard shelled carriers (donated)
Plastic Cages Bottoms - to be used as large litter pans
Vinegar, Peroxide
Rubbermaid Storage Bins
Newspaper
Hay Stuffed Paper Towel Rolls
'Bunny Forts' - creative play areas made from cardboard boxes and tunnels
Bottles for Recycling - (email uvicrabbitrescue@telus.net for pick-up)
Bunny arts and crafts - for pending fundraising event
Vet Care – (email uvicrabbitrescue@telus.net for details)
Transportation -  to Washington State and Victoria (and maybe Texas)
=========
$ CASH! $
=========
PLEASE CONTACT UVICRABBITRESCUE@TELUS.NET FOR MORE INFORMATION
 
RABBIT REPORT 
December 22, 2010
 
Tisol Pledges Major Support for the UVic Bunnies! 
12-22-2010 
 
Tisol, BC’s own home grown pet nutrition and supply store chain, is supporting the rescue of the UVic rabbits while they are being housed at Vancouver’s PNE fairgrounds by supplying 200 kg of food for the bunnies!  In addition, the eight-store chain is collecting contributions from the public on the bunnies behalf. Donations of food, supplies and even cash are being accepted at any of Tisol’s Lower Mainland locations. Tisol's Pet Food Bank accepts donations year round for all types of pets - donations are distributed to registered pet-related charities through the Kensington Foundation. Tisol has kindly added the UVic rabbits to the cause
The rabbits can eat almost any rabbit food Tisol carries, including Martin Little Friend Original.  Stay tuned for a 'wish list'.
 
 Photobucket
 
 
 
RABBIT REPORT 
December 18, 2010
 
Rabbits Arrive at the PNE!
12-18-2010
 
The UVic rabbits have settled happily (for the most part) into their new temporary home at the PNE.
Check out these news stories:
 
 
 
Global TV (above)
 
 
RABBIT REPORT 
December 17, 2010
 
The First Thirty-Five Precious Life-Bound Rabbits Handed Over By UVic 
12-17-2010
 
Permit holder Sorelle Saidman and THE most awesome volunteer Jason Khaira headed over to Victoria late today (Friday) and took possession of 35 rabbits handed over by trappers on the UVic campus.  The /A\ Channel TV crew was there to document the event.
 

RABBIT REPORT 
December 16, 2010
 
Velveteen Rabbit Auction Raises $100 Thanks to Binkybunny.com! 
12-16-2010 (updated)
 
The bidding on our autographed Velveteen Rabbit Digibook eBay auction ended with a very respectable bid of $76, but the bidders, Jennifer and Steve from the great bunny site binkybunny.com most generously offered to make it an even $100 to support the UVic rescue!  Our thanks go out to Horse Fly Studios, Director Denise Quesnel and the actors and the composer who helped make this great movie and storybook even more of a collectible!  For those who missed out, regular copies of the Velveteen Rabbit digibook are available through Amazon.com or at http://www.velveteenrabbit.ca.
Photobucket
 
 
RABBIT REPORT 
December 13, 2010
 
Precious Life Permit Confirmed!! 
12-13-2010 (updated)
 
Photobucket
 
We have received the permit from the Ministry of the Environment to house what should be the last group of rabbits from UVic's designated 'rabbit free zone' at the Pacific National Exhibition Fairgrounds and then transport them to the Precious Life Sanctuary in Sequim, Washington!  We still need more funds to complete the journey, but this is a MAJOR hurdle that has been negotiated.  Permit holder Sorelle Saidman and a crew of hardworking volunteers will be picking up the first allotment of rabbits (between 25 and 50) from UVic late Friday (December 17) and transporting them to the PNE.  Stayed tuned for details.
We will be looking for more volunteers to help care for the rabbits while they're at the fairgrounds and drivers to transport them to and from veterinary clinics.  
We would especially love a donated truck to make the trip to Victoria! 
A web designer to expand this website is sorely needed as is an accountant and/or organizers to track donations, carriers and volunteers. 
Also needed are donations of hay, rabbit pellets, litter, newspapers and huge litter pans (the bottoms of large pet store cages work well).  
Growing trays of grass or providing pesticide-free tree branches would be a nice welcoming gesture for these UVic refugees, reminding them of home.
Please email uvicrabbitrescue@telus.net.
 
The Rabbits' New Home
 
Velveteen Rabbit Auction Online Now To Benefit the Bunnies! 
12-13-2010 

An online auction for an autographed copy of the Velveteen Rabbit storybook and movie is underway on eBay with the proceeds going to the Precious Life Animal Sanctuary to help save the UVic bunnies.  The Digibook contains the original short film and also a hardcover 60 page book of the original story by Margery Williams with colour photographs from the film to complement the visual story.  The package has been autographed by Director Denise Quesnel, Actors Connor Stanhope ("Smallville") and Rennard Lusterio) and Music Composer Jim Boraas.
There's only two days left so check it out soon!! 
 
Velveteen Rabbit Digibook
 
 Bunny Bake Sale and Drop In Clinic Raises Over $1000!!  
12-13-2010 

Photobucket
 
The Bunny Bake Sales and the rabbit health check day and nail clip service held Sunday, December 12th at the Little Paws Animal Clinic in Richmond raised over $1000 to help support the UVic/Precious Life rabbit rescue!  Christina Keats did the most awesome baking job possible!  Not only that, she and awesome volunteer Jason Khaira stood outside in the freezing weather for SIX HOURS!!  Thanks are also due to Amy Tran, Michael Dohnalek, Carmina Gooch, Laura-Leah Shaw and the staff at Little Paws (Louise, Chaleagh and Joseph) among others for supplying baking, art and/or services!  And of course, special thanks to all the awesome donors!  Extra special thanks to people like the lady who snuck in and left $200 in a card for the Bunny Fund!  We hope to be able to thank you all!  You're life-savers! 
 
christina baking 1 medmichael card med

 
(Check out Christina's baking and one of Michael's cards).  
 
Michael and Kathy Dohnalek and Danuta Rogula from the renowned Old Custom House Gallery in Britannia Beach have donated paintings worthy of their own event and the rescue's most awesome donors, Dan and Therese Onischuk, have shipped us boxes of scenic posters and post cards from their company, World Park Foto, which provides these stunning photography and fine art items to benefit nature conservation groups.  Watch this space for a time and place. 
These funds will be needed to transport the rabbits from UVic to Vancouver.  The three trips will cost close over $600 with ferry fees (BC Ferries is not giving us a break), truck rental and gas costs with another $200 for the trip to Washington State.  The remainder (and more) is needed for rabbit pellets, produce and litter for their month-long stay in Vancouver.  Also looming on the expenses front will be treatments and medicines for sick bunnies.  Little Paws has billed us close to $2000 in extra costs not covered by the Fur-Bearer Defenders fund (they pay for the spays and neuters), and that clinic (and probably others) will be seeing the same number of rabbits presumably with at least the same number of ailments and needed care.
 
 
"Bread For Bunnies" Continues! 
12-13-2010 

"Bread For Bunnies" will be ongoing. Nick at Romania Country Bread will be continuing to donate 20 per cent of his bread sales as long as people tell him its for the bunnies!  The shop is on Moncton near 2nd Avenue in Steveston Village, Richmond.
 
 
Photobucket
 
 

RABBIT REPORT 
December 3, 2010
 
 
!! URGENT ALERT !!  

There are still freezing, starving rabbits at UVic that need out now!  We have a place for them to go, the spays/neuters are covered, we just need an ATV! 


Donations to this account will be used by the PRECIOUS LIFE ANIMAL SANCTUARY in Sequim, Washington, to buy a second hand all-terrain vehicle.
  This equipment is necessary to take food and water up to the rabbits' enclosure.  (See the Big Hearts, Bad Knees update below).
They will house as many rabbits as we can support at their safe, secure facility.   

(Donors can also use the Paypal button on the sanctuary's website, please say it's for the rabbits! Tax receipts will be issued). 
 
PLEASE REPRODUCE AND DISTRIBUTE OUR FLYER!
December 3, 2010

 
Update 
12-03-2010 
 
The permit from the Ministry of the Environment to house the rabbits at the PNE and then on to the Precious Life Sanctuary in Washington has yet to be approved. 
Precious Life needs to purchase a used ATV before they can adequately provide for the rabbits.
Meanwhile, neighbours yet again appear to be stirring up more trouble for the Coombs sanctuary north of Nanaimo.  See the article HERE: 
 
RABBIT REPORT 
November 28, 2010
 
Clinic To Host Bunny Bake Sale, Health Check Clinic Sunday, December 12th
11-28-2010

The Little Paws Animal Clinic in Richmond will be hosting a rabbit health check day and nail clip service Sunday, December 12th, from 11 AM to 5 PM with donations to the UVic/Precious Life rabbit rescue. 
There will also be baked goods (for humans and rabbits alike!), artwork and other items available for sale or by donation. 
Watch this space for details! 
The clinic is located at 12011 2nd Avenue in Steveston Village.


RABBIT REPORT
November 15, 2010

NEWS FLASH! The rabbits are currently in grave danger of being culled. Rescue groups have only been able to house 500 of the 1000+ rabbits (and one of the existing sanctuaries is being targeted by a neighbor who is trying to shut it down!) More facilities are desperately needed!

Precious Life: Big Hearts, Bad Knees
11-15-2010

An animal sanctuary in Washington State will save dozens of the UVic rabbits but they need an all-terrain-vehicle to do it. The Precious Life Animal Sanctuary already has a fully enclosed acre currently housing dozens of rabbits and large enough to house dozens more, but they need an ATV in order to deliver food and water to the area where the rabbits can be housed. Precious Life is operated by a retired couple, Ralph and Caryl Turner. The ATV is a physical necessity. The rabbits will also need the usual supplies like rabbit pellets, hay and produce. Can you help? We need to raise at least $2500 for this before they can take the rabbits! You can help them accomplish that with a donation here: http://www.preciouslifeanimalsanctuary.org/help.php The ATV will also help their rescued turkeys, so it will be a timely donation for Thanksgiving! Forego turkey this year and donate the money to the sanctuary (or for those of you already foregoing turkey, have one less Thanksgiving treat). The turkeys will really appreciate it!

The sanctuary will also need volunteers who can come for a pre-schedule work party to help put up a temporary fence and do some ground maintenance. They could also use regular weekly, bi-weekly or monthly volunteers as well as people who can call ahead a day or two and drop by when they can. Regular bunny tasks include feeding, watering, cleaning and socializing. Think of it as a least a free petting zoo or even a free bed and breakfast stay on the Olympic Peninsula! Sequim is tucked in between the coastline and the Olympic National Forest just 10 minutes from Port Angeles. It's a three and a half hour drive from Vancouver and two hours from downtown Seattle and 90 minutes by ferry from Victoria, although the winter ferry schedule does not accommodate day trips. Pre-authorized volunteers are welcome to stay overnight in a small cabin on the property. (Ralph and Carly will even cook you breakfast!)

Washington Ferry schedules

Rabbit Fundraisers in the Works
11-15-2010

Can you help?
Organizers are hoping to organize a "Bunny Hop" that will see a popular local ballroom dance teacher offer "swing" lessons at a dance event in Vancouver that will see all proceeds donated to the rabbits.
And it looks like Romania Country Breads in the Steveston Village in Richmond will be offering a 20% donation throughout December for every loaf of bread sold to people who say they want to donate to the bunnies!

Pacific National Exhibition Offers UVic Rescue Support!
11-15-2010

The Pacific National Exhibition has offered space to temporarily house UVic rabbits. The fair has very kindly offered a large barn and horse stable for the rabbits while they wait to be sterilized, recover from surgery and prepare for transport to their new homes in American sanctuaries. If approval is forthcoming from the Ministry of the Environment, there will be a great need for volunteers.
Bunny Wranglers


Drivers (note: all drivers should be listed in advance on the Rescue's permit)


We also need Organizers!


Please help!

RABBIT REPORT
November 13, 2010
BC Sanctuary Neighbour Takes Unfair Aim
On the heels of a neighbour ordering the deaths of at least 30 UVic rabbits who had escaped their enclosure in Coombs, BC, on Vancouver Island, another neighbour has now complained about the Coombs sanctuary, but rescuers familiar with the situation say the claims are bogus. The Arrowsmith Agricultural Association, which operates the Coombs Fairgrounds has said that the escapees from the UVic rabbits colony housed at the World Parrot Refuge were doing damage to their property.
Rescuers point out that the area had feral rabbits before the sanctuary moved in, and that the association is also blaming Coombs for the wild eastern cottontails that populate the grounds. "Any rabbits in on the fairgrounds couldn't have hopped all the way up the road that far and across a busy highway," says rabbit advocate Carmina Gooch, who has seen the property.
The Coombs rabbits are sterilized and not inclined to go off to start new colonies. Rescuers are suggesting that instead of hiring trappers and 'exterminators' to rid themselves of the former pets and their offspring, the Association donates the money to sanctuary enabling the rescuers to trap, sterilize and securely house the fairground ferals alongside the UVic bunnies.

Rabbitats test