A disturbing video of two people allegedly letting their dogs loose to kill rabbits in Minoru Park in Richmond is doing the rounds on social media.
The video purports to have caught up with a man a woman in the park at night, along with at least two off-leash dogs that have apparently been sent into the bushes to maul the resident rabbits.
The male recording the video about two weeks ago appears to confront the pair about their behaviour, provoking an aggressive exchange between the two parties.
Both dog owners claim in the video that the rabbits have been dumped by parents who bought them for their kids for Easter, so are essentially fair game for their dogs.
They add that the rabbits are an invasive species and their demise in the park is simply the "circle of life."
As the man behind the camera follows the couple, the male dog owner turns back and threatens him with violence if he doesn’t back off.
The video then shows graphic images of dead and mutilated rabbits. The poster claims on YouTube that the dog owners were sending their pets into the bushes to kill the rabbits.
Sorelle Saidman, founder of the Rabbitats Rescue Society, told the Richmond News that she’s well aware of the video and has reported the incident to the BCSPCA and the RCMP.
“Rabbitats volunteers are constantly faced with people (letting) their dogs on the loose rabbits for 'sport',” she said.
“This happens all the time in Richmond and at Jericho Beach in Vancouver. We also have humans who seem to take great pleasure in mutilating baby rabbits.
“We've caught people, including families, out catching them in nets and beating them with sticks.”
Saidman added that the domestic rabbits, even the rabbits born feral for generations, “lack the same fear responses as their wild cousins.”
“They have different brain structures. They are sitting ducks for abuse. It's a huge animal welfare issue that's being totally overlooked.”
The News has reached out to the BCSPCA and Richmond RCMP for more details.
