The Suffolk County SPCA, joined by the Guardians of Rescue, were notified on Sunday that more than two-dozen domestic rabbits had been abandoned near the Ronkonkoma train station in Long Island. Domestic rabbits do not have the survival skills to live on their own in the wild.
According to a press release by the Suffolk County SPCA, 25 rabbits were saved on Sunday and three more were captured on Monday. One rabbit that appeared to have old injuries died after capture. There still might be another five or six rabbits yet to be caught.
“The Suffolk County SPCA responded to the location and with the help of Robert Miserri (first on the scene from Guardians of Rescue, Frankie Floridia from Strong Island Animal Rescue and John DiLeonardo from Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION), 27 domestic rabbits were captured.”
Abandoning domestic rabbits is a “blatant act of animal cruelty” because they do not have the skills to survive in the wild, the SPCA chief of department Roy Gross said in its news release.
Newsday reports the rabbit breeds included Lionheads and Flemish giants. One volunteer returned to Connecticut with 14 rabbits and stated they were definitely domesticated as some of the bunnies were eating lettuce out of rescuers hands. Some of the rabbits were “emaciated with feces” suggesting they may have been kept in deplorable conditions before being released. The owner may have been a breeder who went broke or a hoarder.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Suffolk County SPCA at 631.382.7722. A $3,500 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for such a heinous deed.
Check out the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/suffolkcounty.spca/videos/2194265660807885/
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That is a heartless jerk!!!!!!!
I’d like to abandon him in the middle of nowhere!
My sincerest thank you to all the rescuers–I hope all the rabbits will find the loving caring homes they deserve. As always, the moron will receive “karma”, which will far far exceed this crime. I hope it begins with prison.
Nice to see a significant reward offered showing they are taking this very seriously.