Airdrie jumping on feral rabbit problem

The city of Airdrie, Alta., says it has a rabbit problem.

“The problem that I saw was seeing a domestic rabbit hopping around outside,” Airdrie natural area technician Cheryl Lowe said. She adds she’s still assessing the problem.

“We don’t have any numbers in yet. But we do know that the only sightings that have been confirmed are in Windsong and Edgewater in Airdrie.”

Citizens contacted Airdrie’s Parks Department with sightings of domestic-breed rabbits hopping around in some of the city’s parks and private yards.

“It just recently came to light when we had residents phone in and say they saw domestic rabbits around town,” Lowe told The Morning News on 770 CHQR. “We don’t have them taking over. We just want to know where they are and how many they have.”

LISTEN: Cheryl Lowe joins Jock Wilson to discuss Airdrie’s feral domestic rabbit problem

While a jackrabbit, native to Airdrie and much of Alberta, only produces between four and eight rabbits per year in one to two litters, a feral domestic-breed rabbit can produce between 70 and 80 rabbits a year.

Lowe says the burrows where the rabbits give birth can disrupt homeowners’ yards.

“If I were to see them in my yard, I would take a stroll around my yard and make sure they’re not making any burrows in my yard, because … that’s where they will have their offspring.”

Lowe encourages people not to feed the furry interlopers.

“If you do have domestic rabbits around your yard, please do not try to feed them because that’s just going to encourage them to hang around and breed. And if you have a pet rabbit or any pet for that matter, make sure you don’t release them into the wild.”

Lowe also says that until they have numbers on how big the feral domestic rabbit population is Airdrie isn’t considering a population management strategy like capture and cull.

“We’re not even close to that. We really want to know the numbers first.”

The city of Airdrie is asking residents to email or phone the parks department with details like location, numbers and sighting frequency of the feral rabbits.