A quiet neighborhood in Washington has been invaded by dozens of “extremely hungry” rabbits that are destroying their homes and eating their plants, but local authorities won’t help them.
What started as two or three bunnies has grown to up to 75 rabbits in Spokane’s Hillyard neighborhood.
And while residents agree that bunnies are “very sweet and adorable,” they say the furry animals are also “very destructive,” Ray Krueger said. KXLY.
“I’ve seen so many people’s lawns that are completely destroyed because of them,” he told the outlet.
Another resident, Gary Dennis, said the rabbits “eat a lot” and are destroying gardens.
“The person who lives next door tries to garden in the back and likes to eat up his garden,” he told the outlet.
What started as two or three bunnies has grown to up to 75 rabbits in Spokane’s Hillyard neighborhood. And while residents find bunnies “very sweet and adorable,” they say the furry animals are also “very destructive.”
Resident Gary Dennis said the rabbits “eat a lot” and are destroying gardens. “The person who lives next door tries to garden in the back and likes to eat up his garden,” he said.
The lore surrounding these cute animals is that the original bunnies were given as Easter gifts before being abandoned in the East Queen Avenue area about seven or eight years ago, according to The Spokane Review.
Since then they have multiplied and taken over a six-block radius, according to The Review.
“We almost need a rabbit crossing sign right now,” Lea Boston, who lives with her roommate Lennox Richardson, on East Queen Avenue, told The Review.
Some neighbors like the furry bunnies that roam the neighborhood and leave food for them to feast on, but others are simply done with the rabbit colony and rely on the local government to help them.
“Something needs to be done,” said Hope Walker, a crazed Hillyard resident who has lived in the neighborhood since February 2023. “This is absolutely a problem.”
Walker told The Review that the bunnies have destroyed at least $250 worth of her lavender and boxwood robes and have dug large holes in her yard.
“They eat the roots of grass and plants, and right now they are very hungry,” he told the outlet.
One resident wrote a letter to Mayor Lisa Brown (pictured) asking for help, but says local authorities are not coming to his rescue.
The lore surrounding these cute animals is that the original bunnies were given as Easter gifts before being abandoned in the East Queen Avenue area about seven or eight years ago. Since then they have multiplied and have taken over a six-block radius.
Walker even wrote to Mayor Lisa Brown asking for help last month, but so far no help has arrived.
The bunnies have even become a local attraction and fans flood the quiet neighborhood with nets trying to collect the bunnies to take home as pets. Walker has had to ask people to leave his property.
“It’s like visiting a zoo when it’s not your neighborhood,” Dennis told The Review. “It’s a nuisance to the people who live there.”
The division in the neighborhood has even reached shouting matches over whether or not to feed the rabbits, and since no one claims ownership of the animals, no one can be fined.
Neighbors have reached out to Spokane County Regional Animal Protective Services (SCRAPS) and the city’s Code Enforcement department, as well as Councilman Jonathan Bingle, but say nothing satisfactory is coming out of it, Walker told The Review.
Code Enforcement said they couldn’t be of help because the owner is not known. And SCRAPS simply recommended that they contact a rabbit rescue service, Walker said.
Neighbors are trying to change the city ordinance so authorities can control the rabbit problem (pictured: Spokane)
‘I mean, why can’t they go out en masse and catch these little critters?’ he asked The Review.
SCRAPS Director Jesse Ferrari said it is out of their control and they have no jurisdiction, according to The Review.
“Contracts and statutes must be updated,” he told the outlet. “If that’s a need and a want that the community sees.”
Dennis said he is working with Bingle to help change the city ordinance.
But for now, neighbors like Bryan Caudill, who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years, are happy the bunnies are nearby.
“I have grandchildren and they love them,” she told The Review. ‘And there are many people who do it, like here next door, she loves them. They leave them food. Everyone leaves them food.
Boston and Richardson also like the animals and want them to stay permanently in the neighborhood.
They even laughed when they said that one day when they returned home they found “at least 36” in the front yard, they recalled to The Review.
They believe that the animals that eat plants and attract tourists are what make their neighborhood special.
“They are an integral, absolutely integral part of the community for about four blocks in each direction,” Richardson said.
