Not long ago, our neighborhood’s parks were crawling with rabbits.
The feral rabbits were descendants of cast-off pet bunnies. Hundreds of them made their home in an outcropping of rocks in Woodland Park and in a small meadow on the west side of Green Lake Park.
The bunnies first appeared in the mid-eighties. By 2005, the population had exploded.
While the Green Lake rabbits were popular with many park visitors, they created a host of problems. They damaged tree roots and destroyed native wildlife habitat. Some rabbits carried parasites and diseases. They infiltrated Woodland Park Zoo, burrowing holes in the ground which were hazardous to zoo animals.
The rabbits led a hard life. Descendants of domesticated animals, they were easy prey to predators and were frequently hit by cars and chased by dogs.
In 2005, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, assisted by the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), the Seattle Animal Shelter and the Rabbit Meadow Sanctuary, created a plan to humanely remove the rabbits from Green Lake Park and Woodland Park. They hoped to trap, sterilize and move the animals to Rabbit Meadows Sanctuary in rural Redmond.
The roundup began as planned in early 2006. 48 rabbits were captured, sterilized, and sheltered in cages at Magnuson Park while they received medical care. However, part of the building where the rabbits were located was being used by the Drug Enforcement Administration for training purposes. Gun noise from the trainings scared the rabbits. A scuffle between the Parks Department and Rabbit Meadow Sanctuary led to the partnership dissolving. Many rabbits remained in the parks.
Four Woodland Park rabbits in a holding pen at Magnuson Park, March 8, 2006. Grant M. Haller/Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Used with permission
In the winter of 2006, a second attempt was made to remove the rabbits from Woodland and Green Lake Parks. This effort was successful, although the holding of the rabbits at Discovery Park led to some controversy, particularly after a dramatic KIRO investigative report uncovered poor living conditions for the rabbits.
In the the summer of 2007, the rabbits were relocated to Precious Life Animal Sanctuary, outside of Sequim. Since then, very few rabbits have been spotted in Woodland and Green Lake Parks.
Signs asking pet owners to not abandon unwanted rabbits are now posted at Green Lake Park. However, these signs are small. A local organization, Rabbit Haven, hopes to raise enough funds to purchase larger signs. You can help with this effort, as well as support their rabbit shelter, by attending the annual Rabbit Haven dinner and silent auction this Saturday (September 18, 2010), at the Rusty Pelican Cafe (1924 N 45th St).
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Read more about the rabbit roundups at Green Lake and Woodland Park:
Parks board invites public comment on removing Woodland Park rabbits. Seattle P-I, Monday, November 7, 2005.
Rabbit roundup nets lots of pregnant bunnies. Seattle P-I, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.
Rabbit roundup halted until later this year. Seattle P-I, Wednesday, March 8, 2006.
