Locals in Jenada Isles, Florida, are petitioning to fundraise $40,000 to eradicate the invasive bunnies in their area.
The money would be used to pay a rescue group to capture, neuter, vaccinate and relocate the bountiful bunnies to a new, less-suburban location, the Associated Press (AP) reported Sunday.
Fort Lauderdale resident Alicia Griggs is the one in charge of putting an end to the bunnies’ apparent reign of terror. Griggs is concerned not just for the residents of Fort Lauderdale, but also for the bunnies themselves, according to AP. She is seeking to raise $20,000 to $40,000 to remove the roughly 100 lionhead rabbits from Jenada Isles, a community in Wilton Manors. The bunny takeover resulted from a bunny breeder illegally releasing her bunnies when she moved away from the community two years prior, according to AP.
The bunnies are lionhead rabbits, which are bred to be house pets and “love to play and socialize,” according to The Spruce Pets. Not only are the rabbits reportedly breeding and multiplying like crazy, they are out of their natural element. Lionhead rabbits are not deft enough to survive Florida’s cats, dogs, hawks, osprey, or heat, according to AP.
The city was reportedly planning to exterminate the rabbits after receiving a quote worth $8,000 from a trapping company, but Wilton Manors is giving Giggs and her associates time to raise the money to safely remove the rabbits. (RELATED: Zoo Requests Visitors Stop Showing Gorillas Videos From Their Smartphones)
Monica Mitchell of East Coast Rabbit Rescue said she is sure the job can be done, but that it “is not an easy process,” according to AP.
“The safety of this rabbit population is of utmost importance to the City, and any decision to involve ourselves will be certain to see these rabbits placed into the hands of people with a passion to provide the necessary care and love for these rabbits,” Police Chief Gary Blocker said in a statement cited by the outlet.
While many residents reportedly find the bunnies cute, others want them gone because they dig holes and chew on outdoor electrical wires, according to AP.
While these bunnies are causing some disturbance in Jenada Isles, another area of Broward County experienced an invasion of giant African land snails in June.