Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the people and rescues making a difference in the lives of animals. I am joined today by Maria. She is a passionate animal advocate and animal rescuer here in New Orleans, and she is at the forefront of a growing crisis in our city. Right now it is the Easter impulse buy and the surge of dumped bunnies that occurs afterwards. She's here to help us understand why this is happening and more importantly, how we can break the cycle. Hi Maria, Thank you for coming on the show. Yeah, absolutely. You wanted to talk about an issue that has been like an epidemic lately, and that's of dumped bunnies.

Absolutely. So in New Orleans here, I think across the country actually we've had an increase of people dumping bunnies. And we don't really know why that is, but we know that people are really ill-informed about bunny care. And I would argue that bunnies are like the biggest impulse buy of the animal world, and a lot of it stems back. To Easter, basically. And so right now we have an unexpected boom of loose bunnies running around the city, and it's not even Easter yet. So we're all really concerned because we know that after Easter, after a couple months go by, we're gonna start getting notices that there are bunnies around the city. Yeah, it's been a real issue and we're just trying to educate as many people as we can. Don't get a bunny for Easter and don't let your friends get bunnies for Easter. And make sure to, let the people around you in your communities know that. Because it's really a big responsibility that's falling on the shoulders of, local rescues, all across the country. Yeah.

Before we talk more about that, tell me a little bit about yourself. How long have you been involved in rescuing bunnies?

I found a bunny. Basically it was June 3rd, 2022. It was after midnight. We were coming home from seeing some music downtown, and I pull up and in my headlights is this gray bunny sitting in the middle of my street just sitting up looking at us. And I like threw my car door open and I threw my bag on the ground and I just went after this bunny. Like I just instinctively knew this bunny is not supposed to be there and I'm gonna get 'em. So I brought him home and I honestly thought that this bunny was probably somebody's pet, and he actually had a giant bump on his back, and I thought he probably had cancer. I was like, somebody's gotta be taking care of this bunny. Look at him. He's got this giant tumor on his back. I posted on, the SPCA websites I posted on all the missing pet forums. I even put a sign in my yard and nobody was looking for this bunny. And I very quickly realized it's because this bunny found me and I found this bunny and we were meant to be together. And he has completely changed my life. That's kinda where it started. And so I had this bunny and it was in a weird time during my life. And he was helping me keep it all together. He ended up being this emotional support for me that I really needed in my life at that moment. I had to close my store at the end of COVID. My house, my roof was left open during a rainstorm. I had all this stress in my life and every time I needed to just pin myself back down to the earth, I had this little fluffy bunny and I just fell so in love with him and I was. Amazed at this little animal that they're just so innocent and sweet that it could have this profound impact on me. So soon after that. Here in town at Lafreniere Park, we were having a big boom. There've been dumped bunnies there for years. And our local rescues, our regional rescues, Bunnagain Rabbit Rescue and Education, Lola and Friends Bunny Rescue of South Mississippi and the Jefferson SPCA, were all working together to rescue these bunnies. They have something like 60 bunnies. I really wanted to get involved with them. So I had reached out to them a few times, but the times that I was able to go rescue there was bad weather and I wasn't able to go. And then soon after that there was Petco was gonna start selling baby bunnies. And we have this like online community house Rabbit Society. And everybody was working together to try and call Petco and be an advocate for these bunnies to say you can't carry bunnies. Like we have all these people dumping bunnies. People don't know about bunnies and we definitely don't need you to carry these little baby bunnies, and so what I did is. I had called Petco. I had a conversation with somebody. We ended up being on the phone for about a half an hour, and I was so inspired by it that I opened on Facebook a message thread with me and the three local rescues, and I called it bunny advocates because that is what I am through and I don't have a rescue. But ever since then, we have been such a strong community and we have worked together and we all bring something different to the table. And I just feel like. They were the people that I was meant to find. And we've been working together ever since. And it's been amazing, if we all just lift each other up and help each other when we can and yeah, and we've been able to make videos and have a bigger reach to educate more people. Yeah, so right now I am just a volunteer with the rescues, but really I'd like to start a rescue in New Orleans proper, which we do need. I don't have the funding for that right now. I wanted to make sure that I got the experience volunteering and working with these other rescues to learn what I needed to learn before making the jump, making sure I was the best version of myself and educated enough to like, make that leap. And hopefully I'll be able to do that soon. If I don't adopt someone's nonprofit, I'll be able to start my own and hopefully that's gonna be in the future here. Yeah.

I love hearing about the bunny advocate group that you started and how all the bunny groups work together. Because I see a trend a lot in rescue most of them don't work together, which I always think is a problem. But I've interviewed James with lola and Friends. I've talked to Hannah with the Jefferson SPCA. I talked to Donna with bunn again, and I just think it is so incredibly inspiring that all work together to get a bunny where it needs to go. I think it's great.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that online too, like I mentioned about House Rabbit Society and they even have the Underground Railroad where there's an organization that you can contact them if you have to transport a bunny all the way across the country. There are different people who are volunteer and carry that bunny from state to state. And because we have the internet. People have been able to really work together and to share information and spread information faster. And this just happens to be my local community. And honestly, if it wasn't for, the internet and the way things are done now, maybe we wouldn't all be as connect connected as we are now. It's really helped us work together. And I think it is important, especially when you have this big boom of so many bunnies right now, doing it alone, the isolation that comes with that, the risk, the fear. I mean it, it's a lot to take on. Anybody who's in animal rescue will tell you that. It's a lot. And I think if you can have a community, it's always gonna make you that much stronger.

What is the specific issue that you're facing right now with the dumped bunnies?

Okay, so we got we were contacted by a local car dealership and they said, we've got these bunnies running around loose. There's a ton of them everywhere. And we were like, what is going on? So I happen to live really close by. I'm only about six minutes away. So I ran over and looked and I saw some of them immediately and I had gone around behind the property. I saw someone a little lot there while I was trying to rescue a woman comes down the street, she starts asking questions and I was like, uhoh, do you like love the bunnies? 'cause a lot of times when you go on these rescues. Sometimes people get defensive, like they like the loose bunnies. They think it's fun to have 'em around, not really understanding that it's not safe for them to be out, not only parasites and cars predators. But she was on board. Like she totally understood. She said I've had a bunny before. Like I know, I'm glad you're here. And filled her in. And so she showed me around that whole block, like that whole block is basically a territory for these bunnies. They're not just at the car dealership. They're at all of the property behind there and they've actually dug tunnels. Underneath this woman's house, underneath steps underneath her house, and we don't even have a confirmed number yet. I've personally seen about maybe six, seven or eight. And we know that there are some litters of babies that aren't quite out yet. It seems like they come out in the very beginning of the day and then they tuck away and we haven't seen, so we actually don't have a confirmed number. We, I think were originally told probably, maybe. 20 bunnies, but I don't actually know, and I know that some have been hit. A couple of the younger black ones have already been hit by a car, unfortunately. But yeah, it's a concern because like I said, like Easter's right around the corner. This is a lot of bunnies for us to take on before Easter even. 'cause then, after Easter, there's always gonna be more. And also on top of that, we recently had a report of at Lafreniere Someone had dumped two bunnies and people scurried, and they were like running across the street and they were trying to rescue 'em. They're just. Covered in urine stains is absolutely heartbreaking. One of them did pass away, and the other, as soon as she got to the shelter, she had eight babies, literally that day. So we already had a bunny that had babies. And then a couple days later Hannah at, Jefferson, SPCA, realized her bunny was nesting and she had three or four babies. So right before we got notice about this car lot issue, we already had a boom of over a dozen bunnies, yeah, it's a concern. And the funding a lot of these programs got cut with political whatever. It's like programs get cut, the funding's not there, the space isn't there. So we're just working together and we really need people to foster. You've never fostered before. It's a great opportunity to do it. It would be such a huge help to your community. It would give you an opportunity to get to know bunnies and see why we're so passionate about it. I feel like a lot of people don't really understand bunnies until they find a bunny like I did. I didn't know. I always saw people that had bunnies and I didn't understand the emotional connection. 'cause bunnies hide their emotions. They're nervous when they meet somebody new. And then. You get a bunny in your house and you see how funny they are and how much fun and they're like thinking and flopping around and they're just the cutest, silliest, sweetest little animals. And you understand, it's almost like they heal a part of your inner child. It's just pure joy and I wish more people would have the opportunity to experience that. And I find that a lot of times people don't unless they find a bunny. So I'm encouraging anybody that's listening. Just foster one, just say, I would like to help for a couple months. I know that y'all could use the help and get to know a bunny. 'cause you might absolutely fall in love. I think that's usually what happens. Yeah.

I know a lot of people when they get bunnies and they're maybe not educated about bunnies, they get a bunny and the bunny will just stay in a cage and they'll take the bunny out maybe just for playtime. But the majority of the time that bunny is living in a cage. How do. Fosters do it differently.

Okay, so we are definitely all about the House Rabbit Society. The free Roam bunny, and if not, free roam. Free roam means they have free roam of your house, just like a cat or a dog. Now, bunnies do chew on things, but this is the thing. Cages just aren't appropriate for bunnies. They're not, they never really have been. People are getting better educated about bunnies and understand that if you think enclosure. Instead of cage, you're moving in the right direction. So the space that a bunny needs, you should be able to basically lay in their space comfortably. A bunny should be able to hop three, three hops like in every direction. That's an appropriate amount of space. Now if you have to go to work. You can have your bunny in as enclosure, have some toys to chew. And then when you're home, they can be free room in your house as long as they're supervised or in a room. A lot of people have a bunny room, which is really fun. They can have like little ramps. They go up, they have little tunnels they run through. You just have to make sure that, just like any other animal, they need enrichment, they need mental stimulation, they need toys and things to do, and they're foragers, they're curious, you can make a little box and have some pellets and little dried, dried vegetable and some paper and they like dig around and play. They're very playful and curious animals and you can't just let 'em sit in a cage alone. There's this idea of out of sight, out of mind. And that's what a lot of people will do with bunnies. Like you have 'em in a hutch outside on your back porch. A kid loses his interest and then that bunny is suffering. And they don't do well in the heat. So definitely not in Louisiana. Your bunny needs to be inside. It's cruel. And people will compare that to like wild bunnies. Wild bunnies only have a lifespan about two years, not 10 years. And the reason why is 'cause they are prey animals and they're out in the wild, and they also dig deep down under the earth to keep cool. But when you have an animal in a hutch. Outside in the heat. It's just really inappropriate. They're suffering. And they're also susceptible to still parasites and things like fly strike, which is very brutal. Nobody wants to go through that. So having your bunny indoors in an enclosure where they have more room to be comfortable and still play, you're gonna have a happier bunny. There's no reason why your bunny can't interact in your home and have more space and play a cage. If you see a bunny just sitting there. He's depressed, he's lonely. They're very social animals. A lot of people have two bunnies. It's a bonded pair, and they're absolutely in love. I'm actually looking at two of mine right now, and they're literally like glued together every day, cuddling. Like they're very social animals. To leave a bunny alone in a cage is just it's not considering their mental health or wellbeing. And I think that goes for all animals really. But yeah, people are learning more about that and we had to just keep educating people that think enclosure, not cage and free roaming.

Yeah. I know the last time that I spoke to the bunny people I learned quite a bit that I didn't know about bunnies. Like the one thing that got me was the carrots. Because you would always see Bugs Bunny with a carrot and carrots are not good for bunnies.

Yeah, absolutely. Oh my gosh. It's a whole thing and you'll see me on my rescue videos. I use carrots, I use Apple. What I do is I cut very skinny slices of them and I give them very tiny pieces because what it should be is a treat. It's a special treat, and that is the number one thing You see when people call and they say, oh, we have this bunny running loose in our neighborhood. My favorite term, the neighborhood bunny. There's no such thing as a neighborhood bunny people. It's an abandoned animal or a dumped bunny. But everybody will just throw carrots. I went on this one rescue and a guy came out, he's oh, I give these to her every day. And he handed me a whole bag of mini carrots, and I'm like, this bunny's gonna be sick. I'm gonna get her home. And she's just gonna have the worst upset tummy. Too much sugar is very bad. If you think of a bunny. A bunny is literally one big digestive track, and they cannot have a lot of sugar. So more appropriate treats are, romaine lettuce. Leafy, leafy greens herbs. But yeah, anything sweet like a carrot is definitely considered. They can have some, but just as a little snack yeah.

You mentioned earlier too, that you think bunnies are the number one impulse pet. Why do you think is, why do you think that's the reason?

I think that, it's probably also during spring and Easter of course, you go and you think, oh, it's such a great idea. I can put him in the Easter basket. Oh yeah. And you don't even think about it. You just think, oh yeah, my kid is young. This will be a great first time pet. And how cute would it be? How excited would they be to like, wake up in the morning and there's a little bunny in their Easter basket. Oh, I just love the memory. And they just do it without even thinking about it. And it's not like the pet stores offer you. Any information. I personally think that they should be, it should probably be illegal to buy a bunny at a pet store, but they don't even give you a brochure or nothing, no resources to learn about it. And the thing is they also sell these cages at the pet store. They don't belong in the cages. Like the literally on the packaging of the cage is a cute little bunny. I'm like, that is not an appropriate size for a bunny. I think also part of this is because bunnies are also considered livestock. So we're in this weird area where we're dealing with people getting educated about pet bunnies and then there's like this culture of livestock. So they have like less protection compared to other pets like dogs or cats where a lot of people know like how they should be treated. But I feel like when people go to a pet store and they see this cute little bunny with its little face, you look at the hamster and you're like the bunny's a little bit bigger for my kid to play with. And look how stinking cute it is. And you just do it. You just, it's an impulse all buy because they're absolutely adorable and people fall in love when they see 'em. So I think that's why, and maybe they think it's a little bit something different. It's not as much responsibility as like a dog or a cat. A bunny will be just perfect. And they think that they're gonna live as long as a hamster, which is only two or three years. And hamsters don't belong at tiny cages either. But that's another topic they deserve little habitats too, which is a really fun little project if it's something people are interested in. But bunnies actually live longer lives. It can be, 10 plus years. And it's a misconception. It's an impulse buy thinking. It's gonna be a good beginner pet. It's gonna last a short while. Then they get it. They realize they bit off more that they can chew and people think we know that we can't dump dogs or cats. That's not okay. But bunnies live outside. Bunnies are bunnies. And so then they think that they could just release 'em and releasing a bunny is dumping a bunny. They're domesticated. They're not like wild bunnies, domesticated bunnies, can't even breed with wild bunnies. Like it's a completely different animal. And their immune system isn't ready to be outside. There's just all kinds of reasons. It's just cruel to dump a bunny. And so it's an impulse buy to start. People think. It won't live that long. Great toy for my kid loses interest. Bunnies are a lot more responsibility than they were ready for, and it's just a cycle. And then people release 'em, and then it just stops there. And so we gotta break that cycle at all points if we possibly can. So

Another thing about Easter and Bunnies that drives me crazy is I see this trend lately on social media where people will go do photo shoots with baby animals. Have you seen those?

I haven't actually seen that one. The only one that I'm aware of is Bunnagain and Jefferson, SPCA actually do have one, but those are a rescue run. So if you see an event online where people are doing these photo shoots with baby animals and a rescue is not involved, you should either be asking a lot of questions to why. Or not supporting and making sure that other people know not to support because people shouldn't be making the money off of these animals, letting kids handle the animals without knowing what's gonna happen or whatever. If you go to a photo shoot that's run by a rescue, not only are you supporting a good cause but it's also gonna be managed in a way to make sure that the animals are safe and the children are safe. 'cause, things happen and, it's just for everybody's best interest, but I actually haven't seen that. Usually when I see stuff going online that like raises a red flag for me. I'm pretty involved. Like I do consider myself a bunny advocate. I will get on there and start a conversation about what I think about it, but I won't be rude. It's more to just encourage people to think and maybe to broaden their horizons. Okay, you wanna have a photo shoot with bunnies? Did you consider reaching out to your local rescue? Do you know what I mean? Instead of it. I don't know. There's ways, about that, but I haven't seen it. I'll have to keep an eye out. 'cause Easter is right around the corner.

Yeah. These weren't rescue run. They're just like a regular like photo shoot, a photographer or will go out and get some baby animals. And I've seen 'em do it with the baby ducks, the baby chicks, and then the baby bunnies and, yeah.

And I wonder where all those babies go after.

That's what I was gonna say. I wonder what happens to him after.

There was I guess a famous, artist, a woman I don't, or a influencer, in New York. 'cause that actually they adopted two bunnies and then they did a photo shoot and then on leashes too, which you're not supposed to put a bunny on a leash. And then within a week, those two bunnies were found in a park in New York. And we came down on 'em hard, but I don't even know if there was any repercussions for that. And any consequences. I honestly don't know. I did make a video about it though, and I addressed it. I even tried to contact the woman and say, even if you didn't dump these bunnies, somebody on your team did. And this is unacceptable, and especially if you're in the public eye. We have a responsibility if we're in a public eye or if we have a business to make sure that we're protecting and representing animals. We are people who are creating culture. We are people who have influence in a way that maybe an average person doesn't. And with that comes responsibility to do right by the animals.

When you're talking to about the dumped bunnies, a lot of them being pets that people just get rid of, do you have issues with them being livestock bunnies as well?

That is such a hard topic, now, the other rescues,, I've let them know that I do correspond on those message threads in some of those groups that are livestock. Or meat rabbits. And the reason why I do is because I wanna make sure that even if these people are planning to feed their families with these rabbits, I wanna make sure that those rabbits are well taken care of and. Ethically handled all the way through. And so I'm in this weird place where I am a meat eater, and so then I also feel guilty about that. And I know what rabbit meat is, and it's a healthy meat and when you look at, growing livestock and, raising livestock and all this stuff, like I understand why people do it. Does it break my heart? Absolutely. But I'm still involved with that dialogue because. I want people to make sure that the bunnies are being well taken care of. Do I still try to encourage people and show people what I think? Absolutely. There was this woman, one woman who posted a video and her mating rabbit was her doe was kissing her on her head, on her face. And so I just opened a very friendly dialogue and I said, I just want you to understand that when a bunny does that, they think of you as family. And I personally think that like animals can be soulmates. Like not every soulmate is gonna come back in human form. And if you have an animal that is bonding with you in this way, when an animal is such a timid, especially, a prey animal is so scared, if that animal is bonding with you and kissing you and thinking you are family, maybe you should consider that. You should really think about that and reflect on that before you cull or un alive. That bunny, I hate to say kill, but I haven't seen any of her posts since, but I always just try to put that little seed, we, a lot of these dump bunnies too. You know what we find? We had a whole bunch of dump bunnies on the West Bank, and it seemed to me that someone was breeding them and then couldn't do it. They couldn't they realized they couldn't. They couldn't cull 'em. And so they realized, and now I have all these bunnies, what am I gonna do? And they let 'em go in the woods. And I think that happens more often than people realize too, because they are such cute, sweet little animals. And then when you're working with them hand in hand you realize that. So I'm in a weird place with it because while I'm against it, I'm still gonna be a part of that dialogue in an effort to make sure that they are well cared for, and have a good life before someone does. Use them to feed their family even though it's as heartbreaking as it is. So I feel guilty. I'm not a vegan. I can't, until I'm vegan, I feel like I can't go out there and it's hypocritical. So I'm just heartbroken. But I do think that. Here's the thing, people still have them as livestock, but the more people realize how similar bunnies are to cats and dogs and the way that they bond with you and how much fun they are to have as pets, there might be less and less of livestock bunnies because they really are like beautiful little additions to your family.

Yeah. See, I don't understand that, from being a pet person, how do you raise 'em and not bond with them,

yeah, there was a woman that was also recently, like kissing on it and a little baby, and she was like, oh, this is gonna be a crockpot bunny. But she's kissing on it. And I just said again, trying to open the dialogue without being like judgmental and scaring 'em away or being too pushy. I just said, consider also the animals. Mental health and emotional health, that it's a betrayal. If you are gonna grow an animal, if you're gonna raise an animal to feed your family, make sure that there's a boundary that you're not gonna bond with this animal because it's not just about you bonding with this animal. It's about the animal bonding with you. It's a betrayal if an animal is showing you. Like love, eternal love, it's something so much bigger. Like when a animal loves you, it's so special. And if you don't put that boundary up, if you're gonna raise livestock and you're just letting these animals love you and then you kill them, like that is a betrayal on love. So if you're gonna raise livestock animals, I don't want to judge as much as it breaks my heart, but please put that boundary up because it's not fair to that animal. Treat them well, of course, give them a good life, treat them well, but don't bond with them emotionally like that because they're emotional animals. Like I said. They like to live in a community. They bond with each other. They don't wanna be alone. They're very loving animals. So if you're gonna to eat your animals, don't bond with them on that level. Have that barrier, have that boundary.

Yeah. Absolutely. I agree. I think that is the biggest betrayal of trust. I yeah. I can't even wrap my head around it, yeah. It's difficult for me to understand.

Exactly. And it, I think that they're like, oh, I'm giving him a good life. I'm like you can give him a good life without betraying that love. That's the thing, keep that boundary. Don't let them kiss you. Then. Like he loves you. I'm like my inside, my heart screaming like that little bunny loves you. Don't you know? But that's why I like to say just consider, it might be your soulmate. Just really reflect on that before you make this decision, I don't know. I don't have the answer. It's been difficult though, because, you're trying to educate people and you want people to bring their little bunnies inside. And we do have this movement for homesteading and livestock on a small scale and things like that. So it's a weird place to be. It really is. And ultimately, I just try to put my best foot forward and inspire people without making them feel uncomfortable. Do you know what I mean? That's the best that I can offer and the best that I can do.

Before we end the call, what do you think are ways to get people out of this impulse buying and buying bunnies as Easter gifts?

I wish people would talk to their local rescues to see if there would be a fostering opportunity. Some won't do that 'cause they still feel like it's a bad idea. Kids and bunnies and things happen. Or you could plan a visit with bunnies or something like that, like a special event you could go to. But I think that pet stores, it should be illegal to carry bunnies. And if not, if they don't ban 'em from carrying bunnies, they should at least do it before Easter. They should. Absolutely. And ducks too. I know that little chicks and little ducks and all that. I know it's the same thing. People have 'em in their Easter baskets. But it's not something that should be available for the impulse buy. We should absolutely stop that there. I don't know if we'll ever get to that point. So it's either work with your rescues and that, and I guess that cities would have to come up with, local laws about who can have, these little animals. If they would just not have them in the pet stores, that would be ideal. Of course. Like they did that with cats and dogs. They started, dogs and cats. They started adopt don't shop. And that should be the exact same situation for bunnies. A lot of these little animals that are pet stores come from mills. It's just like puppy mills, except they're for small animals. And it's absolutely terrible. If pet stores wanted to work with local rescues, that's a great option too. You would be supporting the rescues. It would come with, community and education because then you would be involved with the rescue. And we are like a little bit of a community. But yeah, that's really the thing is we need to talk to our pet stores and we need to say, you need to not carry bunnies, or you especially just don't carry them before Easter because of that, that impulse buy issue. I think that bunnies moving forward are actually gonna be a more popular and a more common house pet because bunnies are herbivores and if you think of the state of the world and climate change and all this stuff, and dogs and cats being carnivores, our world is changing, our future is changing. And to be able to take care of an herbivore is gonna be very different than having to supply meat for cats and dogs. So I think in the future, bunnies are actually gonna be a more common house pet.

Thank you so much for coming on to talk about all of this.

Absolutely. I was really thankful that you reached out. I appreciate everything you're doing. I think it's so important and I love listening to your podcast. I think it's really wonderful. Really excited to see what else y'all come out with in the future too. So thank you so much.

Thanks again to Maria for coming on the show to talk about the growing problem with bunnies and Easter. I just wanted to clarify one thing too, after the call ended, Maria did text me to let me know that she forgot to tell everybody what the bump on the back of her bunny was, and it was not cancer. Instead it was an abscess. So she did have a happy, healthy bunny. That's it for today's episode of Animal Posse. If you love what we're doing, please consider becoming a member. Your support directly helps us continue highlighting the people and stories that save lives across the country. Just a quick reminder, the views and opinions expressed by our guests are theirs alone and are provided for entertainment purposes. They don't necessarily reflect the official position of the show, and this information should never replace the advice of your own veterinarian. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.