Back when I was at UVic there were no rabbits on campus, it was VGH that had the rabbit problem. Since then UVic has been the centre of a rabbit plague.
Lately they wanted to try and manage the rabbits through capture, sterilization and adoption. After 51 rabbits and $17,743 this program has ended. If I were a student at UVic, I would be appalled at this expense. The ongoing cost of the rabbits is also not free. It is time for some group like VIPIRG to do some research and analysis on what it is costing UVic to have these rabbits infesting the campus.
The 15oo or so rabbits on the campus are an introduced species and need to be completely removed. Killing them is hardly a horrible thing to do given that almost all of us eat meat and accept the death of huge numbers of animals for that purpose.
The 1500 rabbits could be trapped and then killed with the meat going to the food banks. Allow people to come the campus on weekends and trap rabbits for their own food needs.
Whatever is done, the University has a fiduciary obligation to the students to manage their financial resources well. Spending a fortune on a few rabbits is not my idea of looking after the interests of the students getting an education.
4 comments:
As a Gordon Head homeowner I want to see something done about the rabit infestation as well. Recently we have started seeing the rabbits making their way into our yard and my garden. Between the deer and the rabbits there is nothing left for us!
Just today my letter was published re: the rabbits being a potential source of fresh meat in the aftermath of a major Pacific Northwest earthquake.
With respect to consuming them, I'm sure they'd fail some sort of food regulation under normal circumstances.
How hard would it be to re-locate them, I wonder? If you're going to kill them with traps, is it that much harder to trap them live and re-locate them to the Sooke foothills and let nature takes it course...
You overlook the fact that the rabbits are a considerable reason why students decide to come to UVic over other universities.
As a current undergrad, believe me, it's true. Baby bunnies are a prime motivating factor for some students.
So, really, the bunnies are partly an expense in attracting enrollment.
That said, the recent plan was very, very silly. They also put up signs everywhere asking students not to feed the adorable baby bunnies because they are 'feral'. I'll give you one guess as to whether or not that worked.
As an UVic alumni, I have to say that rabbits is what made me think of my university different from others. Having the rabbits hopping around made me feel more relaxed, especially after a long day at school. In fact, I remember once when I was out on the campus one night at 3AM, and I saw a pair of rabbits sitting on the lawn looking at the moon. That really made my night. :)
Frankly, it was a secret wish that I had that I can catch a rabbit and adopt it as pet. My friends who shared the same wish with me found out that it was actually subjected to fining if we catch rabbits on our own.
I really wish they would at least keep a controlled population of rabbits on campus. UVic just doesn't feel UVic anymore without the rabbits!
Post a Comment