Animal control seizes 74 rabbits from Center Township garage

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Ivory

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From the Chesterton Tribune


A Center Township resident may face animal cruelty charges after Porter County Animal Control officers discovered and removed 74 rabbits from her garage, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said.

According to police, Animal Control Officer Patrick Cassin on June 23 investigated a complaint received regarding “several rabbits being kept in unsanitary conditions” inside a garage in the 1400 Block of Redwing Road. Cassin said no one responded at the property and requested police assistance when he thought he smelled dead animals on the property.

Police said they identified a deceased rabbit in plastic bag in a trash can near the end of the garage as the source of the smell. Through a back door of the garage, Police said they observed rabbits that appeared “to be living in their own feces, in cramped, unventilated conditions.”

Officers entered through the partially open front garage door and found more rabbits living in carriers not designed for long term housing, police said. The amount of feces in these carriers caused the rabbits to be pressed against the top as “none had been cleaned for a very long time,” police said, butthey did appear to have regular access to food and water.

Because the “poorly ventilated and cramped conditions posed an immediate threat to the lives of these rabbits,” police said they made the decision to have the rabbits removed for their safety.

Some of the rabbits showed evidence of “urine scalding” suffering from skin burns and hair loss as a result of prolonged exposure to urine, police said. The only ventilation source came from a box fan placed at the front garage door and a four-inch gap at the back door, police said.

While removing the animals, police said the resident exited the home and advised she was “behind on cleaning” but she planned to do so later in the day. She advised it was not fair for officers to take the rabbits without giving her the chance to clean up and improve the conditions, but she was cooperative in assisting the transport of the animals, police said.

The resident also advised she bred rabbits for show and at least one of them was a grand champion award winner, police said. The cause of death for the found deceased rabbit was from heat, the resident advised.

Approximately 30 of the seized rabbits were transported to the Porter County Animal Shelter while the others were taken to and housed at an undisclosed location and were assessed by a veterinarian. One of the rabbits had died overnight due to either stress or being housed next to another rabbit with a respiratory infection, police said.

Police informed the resident of the requirements to post bond for her rabbits within ten days of the date for their impoundment. Police on June 25 estimated the cost of care for one individual rabbit for thirty days was $50. The bond amount was set at $3,650, the estimated cost of care for 73 rabbits.

Source: http://www.chestertontribune.com/Police ... abbits.htm
 
I was intrigued that there were no pics -- found: http://animalhoardinginfo.blogspot.com/ ... arder.html

I also found another version of the article that had comments. The bit that annoyed me, was that half of them were all, OMG SEVENTY FOUR RABBITS!?!? Thats SO MANY RABBITS!! We need to educate the public that 74 rabbits isn't the same as 74 dogs or 74 cats.

But I think this one's legit. That's not even a cage, it's a carrier.
 
Yeah. I think the fault is the breeder in this case. They made it clear that they have food and water but the living conditions were poor. I feel like they have been putting off buying more cages for a growing herd and it's going to suck now that they have to pay that bond. Could of bought new cages with pans: easy to clean :p
 
That one isn't too bad. I would want the animals taken if they were living on their own poo and pee. Cleaning later in the day is too late. They should never stand in the filth.

The fee to get them back is ridiculous. How on Earth does it cost over 3 grand to care for 74 rabbits for 50 days? No way, they just want money out of her.

Looking at that pic, if more of them were like that...I would not want her to get any of them back! Terrible...
 
If a breeder is using any kind of stacker unit, they really cannot afford to clean them less than twice a week, especially if they raise any commercial or larger breed of rabbits and/or if there is a doe with a litter, both of which will accumulate a lot of waste in 3-4 days. Ammonia will begin to rapidly build up beyond that point.

A box fan for a garage full of rabbits? Are you serious?

__________ Wed Jul 04, 2012 11:35 am __________

ChickiesnBunnies":nhg3ur3z said:
The fee to get them back is ridiculous. How on Earth does it cost over 3 grand to care for 74 rabbits for 50 days? No way, they just want money out of her.
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With Dede Bell (6 Bells Rabbitry in CO), the fees she was originally on the hook for was in excess of 10 grand/month. Either way, it was still ridiculous.
 
SatinsRule":a1kb4gx5 said:
If a breeder is using any kind of stacker unit, they really cannot afford to clean them less than twice a week, especially if they raise any commercial or larger breed of rabbits and/or if there is a doe with a litter, both of which will accumulate a lot of waste in 3-4 days. Ammonia will begin to rapidly build up beyond that point.
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That's the truth.
 
When our neighbor raised rabbits in his garage he cleaned everyday. There was little to no smell and our neighborhood was a very nice, suburban neighborhood with houses not that far apart. The droppings went into his garden and sometimes we did get a smell on really hot days when the wind blew a certain way but the smell wasn't where his rabbits were kept.

I feel bad for the rabbits living in those conditions, it isn't right.

I wonder if she allowed people to come buy rabbits from her place or if she met them somewhere?
 
I wonder if she allowed people to come buy rabbits from her place or if she met them somewhere?
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I wondered that as well. I'd be suspicious of any strange sores on a potential rabbit...my new doe has a badly scarred nose and better believe I checked it out THOROUGHLY to make sure it was an old scar and fully healed. Pee burns and stuff? I'd run the other way...but many pet folk with little experience might not know to look or know what caused it. :(
 
Ivory":3sl0yz23 said:
The resident also advised she bred rabbits for show and at least one of them was a grand champion award winner, police said. The cause of death for the found deceased rabbit was from heat, the resident advised.
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This gives other good people that raise rabbits for show a bad name.

This is aweful
 
When I was about 14 yrs old there was a woman that lived on the other side of the alley. She had a small outbuilding that had previously been a playhouse. She turned it into a cat house. Literally! There were almost a hundred cats in that building and every once in a while they would get out and destroy the neighborhood gardens from them using them as litter boxes.

Somebody called the police on her. The woman came crying to my grandmother about all of her precious cats. She had more in her house!!!!!

So, I wonder sometimes if people are like the old cat lady. They collect and collect and collect animals and then can't take care of them. Sort of like hoarding. I'm not referring to prepping, because I think just about everybody with two brain cells to rub together realizes we are in trouble. But there are poeple that just pile up and pile up and then can't handle it.
 
agreed, but a real rabbit hoarder is going to have lots more than 74 rabbits!
 
Im not so sure the number of rabbits has to do with being a hoarder. I have a nieghbor that is definitly a hoarder and shes only got two rabbits that i know of. But shes constantly bringing home chickens and ducks and truck loads of just stuff, filling up her home and yard with stuff, junk , stuff that she has no use for. The animals numbers dont get to be that big because the preditors know where to come to find a meal,raccoons and hawks and cyotes keep the numbers down.

This woman in the article obviously has some problems , not cleaning up , she obviously had more rabbits than she could care for. Ten rabbits is too many. As far as the price to get them back, thats not to high. Personaly I dont think she she should be allowed to just get them back.
 
-HRanchito":10ug74fb said:
agreed, but a real rabbit hoarder is going to have lots more than 74 rabbits!
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LMAO!!!!!


Seriously, the situation is sad and the poor rabbits deserved much better than what they were given. There are a million little things that develop over time in a person's mind that can prevent them from being responsible for the animal they keep. The best we can do is maintain decent standards in our own rabbitries and 'weed out' those procrastinating thoughts that creep in...... The 'too busies' and "I'll do it tomorrows' can have a cumulatively devastating effect on most good things in life. Personal health and other life situations can also set a finely balanced art of managing one's responsibilities into a downward spiral; there is a time when the right thing to do is to reduce the numbers or call for help.
 
cottontail":30tg8na9 said:
that is bad. here is a link to 6 bells rabbitry click on the photo to see the slide show.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28 ... etail.html

made my stomach turn. But my rabbits for some reason like to sit in their water crocks and soil it. but I clean it 2X per day.
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I've made mention to 6 Bells several times on this site, and I will repeat my objections to it: My problem is not with the fact that the rabbits were rescued from a totally filthy situation. Those conditions were deplorable and indefensible. My heartache is with the way the woman's civil rights were violated willingly by the authorities involved with the case, right up to the judge who presided over the case. Most of the "punishments" and fines which she ultimately was saddled with were affixed before she ever even had her day in court.
 
There were allegations of possible staging of some of the pictures of rabbits in the Bell case, here were clean healthy looking rabbits sitting on a pile of poo. I have rabbits that always make a pile of poo in one corner very quickly, sometimes I just switch them to another cage until I have time to scrap out the corner. I also turn my trays to avoid this problem and present a clean corner. Babies can dirty up a water crock in the flash of an eye, reason why I prefer bottles, instead of bleaching crocks all the time. Based on the Bell case I no longer blindly believe the 'Authorities' version of events, I want proof of abuse from an unbiased source. Considering what their trying to do to regulate and end breeding of any species thru APHIS any breeder should turn a more sceptical eye towards these situations, because one must always remember that it could be you next. Debe Bell was railroaded, conditions were created to make it appear worse than it was, and I truly believe pictures were staged. Her civil rights were horribly violated, on that point alone one should not be so quick to condemn her. Be careful folks, this is a really slippery slope, I may be paranoid but I also know that they are out to get us.
 
There is no reason for a rabbit to be kept long term in a carrier, no reason for the poo to accumulate to the point that the rabbit is up against the top of the carrier. Regardless of the number of rabbits, this lady was NOT taking adequate care and was WAY more than just "behind" on cleaning....

That being said, there must be some way to help people like this and educate them on proper cleaning and care methods....I mean, they give back people's KIDS after they are found in atrocious settings...why is it that rabbits are treated differently than children?
 

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