BRIDGEPORT – Seventeen pet rabbits were left wounded and emaciated after being abandoned in a Bridgeport park on April Fool’s Day, according to local animal shelters.
The rabbits were recovered Tuesday at McGuane Park, 2901 S. Poplar Ave., by Chicago Animal Care and Control officers before being transferred to five different rescue shelters, Marcia Coburn, president of Red Door Animal Shelter, said in an interview.
One of the rabbits passed away from “severe bite wounds,” she said. The rest are recovering at the local shelters, with some of the rabbits showing signs of abuse and injury before being left at the park.
“So we got the rabbits, and they’re in terrible shape,” Coburn said. “Obviously, they had been in a very abusive situation before they were dumped.”
When the rabbits were discovered, local shelters quickly stepped up to help.
Red Door, 2410 W. Lunt Ave., and Moon Dog Farm Rescue in Sauk Village were the first two shelters to take on the rabbits, Coburn said. Three other shelters threw their hats in the ring, including One Tail at a Time, 2144 N. Wood St., the Animal Care League, 1013 Garfield St. in Oak Park, and the Anti-Cruelty Society, 510 N. La Salle Dr.
Red Door and Moon Dog specialize in less common shelter rescue animals, including rabbits.
“Animal control usually transfers their rabbits out to other shelters in the area, but they can’t handle that many at one time normally,” Coburn explained. “So we did a lot of outreach to other shelters in the Chicago area to see who could take some rabbits.”
Red Door took on five rabbits while Moon Dog, One Tail at a Time and the Animal Care League assumed three each. The Anti-Cruelty Society brought in two of the rabbits.
Most of the rabbits were suffering from new and old injuries, Coburn said. Of the five rabbits Red Door is caring for, only one is currently healthy enough to get put onto an adoption track.
One of the rabbits under Red Door’s care was found with 12 infected abscesses and had to be placed under intensive care, Coburn said. The wounds might be bite marks from a cat, veterinarians at the shelter speculated. Another rabbit was discovered with a healed-over wound on its knee, possibly from a bone break prior to being dumped.
The rabbits were also severely malnourished when they were found in Bridgeport, according to Coburn. They ate “ravenously” when given hay for the first time after being abandoned.
“One of them has a broken knee that’s been healed over. So it’s an old injury. It didn’t happen when they were dumped or caught,” Coburn said. “And they also suffer from ear mites, similar to tiny fleas that bite their ears and form a bloody crust around them. They’re in a tough spot.”
It will take a long time for the rabbits to be put up for adoption. The rabbits need to first be treated for their injuries and nursed back to health before getting spayed – and then the proper adoption paperwork can be filed. The process could take months, Coburn explained.
Domesticated rabbits cannot be left in the wild to fend for themselves, as they are bred to be significantly more docile and have different diets than wild rabbits, according to the House Rabbit Resource Center.
To support Red Door Animal Shelter, you can visit their website here.
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