A Florida suburb is facing an adorable invasion of exotic rabbits after a breeder let them loose and they started multiplying
Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press
- Exotic fluffy bunnies have invaded a Florida neighborhood after a breeder illegally let some loose.
- Locals want to capture and re-home the rabbits, but it'll be expensive.
- And the cute critters make for difficult pets because of their strict diets.
When you think of invasive species, the first thing to come to mind probably isn't adorable fluffy bunnies. But that's exactly what residents of a Florida community have been dealing with.
About 60 to 100 lionhead rabbits, an exotic species, have spread like wildfire ever since a breeder illegally released a group of them before moving away two years ago, The Associated Press reported.
Lionheads are named after the tuft of fur forming a mane-like sprout around their necks, according to the standards of the American Rabbit Breeders Association.
Though some members of the 81-home community, called Jenada Isles, in Wilton Manors, Florida, love the bunnies, they're a domesticated species not meant to survive in the wild, the AP reported.
"Domesticated [rabbits] released into the environment are not equipped to thrive on their own," Eric Stewart, executive director of the American Rabbit Breeders Association, told the AP.
Their coats are too thick for the Florida heat, eating grass is not healthy for them, and they're susceptible to predators, the AP reported. They're also bad for the community: they munch on wires, wreck lawns, and poop all over sidewalks, according to the outlet.
But saving the bunnies would be an expensive endeavor.
Alicia Griggs — a resident who's been leading the effort to capture, neuter, and re-home the bunnies — is trying to raise the whopping $20,000 to $40,000 that would be needed, the AP reported.
And even if that much money is raised, getting the bunnies adopted is an uphill battle, because they have high-maintenance needs.
"People don't realize they're exotic pets and they're complicated," Griggs told the AP. "They have a complicated digestive system and they have to eat a special diet," she said, adding, "You can't just throw any table scraps at them."
But until they find their forever homes, the friendly rabbits are getting some love from the neighbors.
"People drive by, stop, love 'em, feed 'em," local resident Gator Carter told the AP. "They don't bother me."