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The Final Roundup

~ Golden View Rabbits ~

By Elaine Miyabara
(in charge of the Golden View rabbit rescue)

Ken holding a carrier containing two rabbits

Ken carries rabbits from the van to the rabbit pasture

This is the second article on the Golden View rabbits. The first article is here: The Golden View Rabbits.

Whenever there's a roundup of a large herd of rabbits, there are inevitably those who "missed the bus" for various reasons - illness, injury, recovery from surgery, or are simply trap-wise and difficult to catch. So it was with the Golden View rabbits. Eventually, the stragglers were all captured and deemed healthy. There were 25 additional rabbits that needed to be transported to PLAS to join their herd mates, so Beverly Wallace and Audrey Poole-Brown, who are in charge of the Golden View rescue, rented a van and drove them from southern California to Sequim, WA.

On December 4, 2018, Beverly and Audrey arrived at the sanctuary, to our amazement, at exactly the time their GPS predicted they would, and the rabbit release was immediately accomplished. The terrified rabbits were urged out of their carriers onto the grass and quickly recognized the taste of freedom and fresh air. It was a very cold day, but they had no problem adjusting from their former home of bare ground to the soft cushion of grass under their feet.

After the rabbits were released, Beverly and Audrey stayed behind to reacquaint themselves with the other rabbits who had been transported the month before and who they so lovingly took care of through the entire rescue process of spaying, neutering, feeding, nursing back to health, and much, much more. They pointed out Grandpa, Samantha, Nellie, Baby, and others that they recognized and were happy to see that they were doing just fine.



A rabbit in Ralph's hands puts it's front paws on the grass

Ralph releases a rabbit into it's new home

Please remember that these are feral domestic rabbits who were originally dumped intact and left to fend for themselves and breed out of control by thoughtless and cruel humans. (One female rabbit can have 80-100 babies in one year.) Often these rabbits were bought or obtained when they were adorable little babies, maybe as a gift to a child at Easter or they were in a cage with many others and were sold for $10 each, sometimes as snake food. After a few weeks, the child and parents quickly tire of the rabbit, and unthinking and heartless humans think that dumping the rabbit in a park or in any grassy area is the solution to their own selfish needs. These feral rabbits have never known a warm home with regular meals, and these are not lap rabbits who are used to being held and petted. They are as close to "wild" as a domestic rabbit can be. They are skittish, untrusting and hungry, and they are an easy meal for coyotes, hawks and many other predators.

Beverly and Audrey are dedicated and tireless rescuers who reap their share of criticism and very little reward from external sources. Like all true rescuers, however, they do not need any outside compliments or attaboys, though they are greatly appreciated when offered. Their reward comes from the immeasurable satisfaction of seeing all their hard work, dedication and out-of-pocket expenses end up in their rabbits finally running free in their forever home. The feeding, watering, cleaning and caring for these rabbits will now lovingly continue at PLAS. Rabbits themselves are magical, but none of these rescues happen by magic.

Elaine, Beverly and Audrey standing in the rabbit pasture

Elaine, Beverly and Audrey

Audrey returning carriers to the van

Audrey collecting empty carriers

Beverly with a bucket of treats

Beverly giving out leafy green treats to the rabbits

Ralph and Ken stacking empty carriers

Ralph and Ken put away the empty carriers

Elaine setting a rabbit down on the grass

Elaine sets another rabbit free

The single most important action you can take to support these rabbits and Precious Life Animal Sanctuary is to share this story with your friends!

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Read more about the Golden View Rabbits...

“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”

— Thomas Edison

Ken helping rabbits out of the carriers

A rabbit pauses after Ken sets it in the grass>


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