Several of the hundreds of feral rabbits who make their home at the University of Victoria forage for food.Geoff Howe For The Globe and Mail
Feral rabbits on the University of Victoria campus face death or relocation and sterilization if they cross into "rabbit-free zones" starting this summer.
"The ground is just littered with rabbit feces," said Tom Smith, executive director of facilities management. "There are many places on campus where you don't even want to walk across a lawn."
In its latest attempt to control the 1,600 bunnies that run rampant across campus, the university unveiled a population management plan on Monday.
The centrepiece of the plan are two zones - a "safe zone" in the centre of campus and a "dead zone" around residences, sports fields and nearby neighbourhoods.
Two hundred of the fuzzy creatures will be allowed to live in the 40-hectare safe zone within the perimeter of Ring Road. Food will be provided to entice the bunnies to stay within the prescribed space.
Rabbits found outside Ring Road will be euthanized unless community organizations and individuals can provide Ministry of Environment-approved homes for the critters, which will then be sterilized. The population within the safe zone will also have to be culled until numbers fall to 200 rabbits.
The rabbits are the descendants of pets abandoned on campus.
The population boom brought massive amounts of feces, decimated plant life and littered the campus with dangerous rabbit holes.
Mr. Smith said the rabbits destroyed $75,000 of landscaping at the William C. Mearns Centre for Learning, contributed to twisted ankles on sports fields and caused car accidents as drivers on campus swerve to avoid them.
The plan to control the rabbits will cost $30,000 plus the costs of euthanizing them. Mr. Smith said the university hasn't decided on how to euthanize the animals, but it will be one of the methods approved by the American Veterinary Association. The final method will not be disclosed because it is "too graphic" Mr. Smith said.
BC SPCA officials are disappointed with the plan to cull animals and want the university to give non-lethal methods such as sterilization a longer chance to work, said animal welfare manager Geoff Urton.
The rabbit problem isn't university-made however, Mr. Urton said. It's the fault of irresponsible pet owners in surrounding cities and those cities should help the school pay for the humane removal of the animals.
Mr. Smith said the university simply can't wait that long.
"It's not up for debate anymore, we have decided to reduce the population," he said. "The community doesn't have the capacity for that kind of number of rabbits and we can't wait five years for a spay and neuter program to reduce the population."
The animal protection society and the university do agree on a prevention method, jointly requesting that municipalities pass a bylaw prohibiting the sale of rabbits that have not been sterilized.