We call on The Crest at Citrus Heights, Citrus Heights Animal Control, City of Citrus Heights and County of Sacramento to: 

• Assist and allow rescues and animal control to capture, neuter, spay, and shelter bunnies from the Crosswoods Community Park and The Crest Housing area.
• Prevent future dumping of rabbits and all other pets 1) by posting signage prohibiting the dumping of rabbits and all other pets, and 2) by working with rabbit rescue groups to educate community members on domesticated house rabbits.

The situation at the Crosswoods Community Park area contributes to the vast problem of domestic rabbit overpopulation, abandonment, and euthanasia in shelters. This rabbit populations can become a conduit for the deadly Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus outbreak (RHDV2), which can destabilize wildlife populations. RHDV2 has been found in San Benito County as of February 2022.

We have worked with various rabbit rescue groups and have rescued over 38 rabbits from this area, there are still many rabbits left in the area!

We have found that The Crest at Citrus Heights, had a former resident who was living there and breeding rabbits to sell for drug use. X. has been charged with multiple cases of animal abuse, elderly neglect,  drug abuse, and other crimes. At one point X. had over 20 rabbits in a small apartment. This story has been confirmed by the director of The Crest at Citrus Heights. All the rabbits that X. has bred have been neglected and left to roam around The Crest apartments and park.  We are asking the Crest at Citrus Heights to allow us rescue these abandoned rabbits. Currently, The Crest at Citrus Heights are not answering our calls.

We have found that the rabbits by The Crest at Citrus Heights, have syphilis. This is an infectious disease that will hurt the rabbit population at Citrus Heights. It is treatable and we have rescued over 12 rabbits that have had syphilis from this area.

People who have tried to rescue the rabbits have been verbally harassed, physically threatened, and racially profiled. We ask the Crest at Citrus heights to educate their residents about rescue efforts. The residents of the community are blaming Asian community members for taking rabbits.

It was thought that these rabbits have been around the park for 30 years, however, that is incorrect, since the rabbits are different breeds they most likely have been dumped. The rabbits all under two years old and the majority have been confirmed to be bred by X. in the last few years. Most veterinarians agree that domesticated rabbits can only live up to two years in the wild, but can live up to 10 years in indoor homes! It is also worth noting that these rabbits cannot be "feral" as they are prey animals and unable to fend for themselves. They rely mostly on human care for food. There have been many large predators attracted to this site because of the rabbits.

The situation must be contained before it grows into a larger problem and financial liability for city taxpayers. It is a tragically mistaken belief that a companion rabbit set loose will join a wild rabbit family. Instead, these rabbits fall victim to dogs, cats, raccoons, raptors, coyotes, and automobiles. This is what we are seeing happening at Citrus Heights. Locals and residents have reported:

• Over 29 cases of rabbit injuries and illnesses.
• Rabbits being ran over by cars nearly every single week. On June 22, one of these rabbits was ran over by a car and had to be euthanized at the Atlantic Street Pet Emergency Center. 
• New rabbits continually being dumped. One resident observed 10 new rabbits in one day. The security guard at the library also confirmed there were new rabbits.

These rabbits are scientifically classified as domestic pets, not wild rabbits as a precious local article wrote (a major case of misinformation). They cannot withstand outdoor conditions and living.

There are countless examples in cities where abandoned domestic rabbits quickly became an ethical and financial liability. In Las Vegas, a small population of dumped domestic rabbits grew to over 1,200 rabbits. In Canada, the City of Canmore spent over $350,000 to manage the domestic rabbit population in their town.

Sign the petition!