CULVER, Ore. — The bunnies are not so bountiful now, but Harry Carman is worried about spring.

Last summer, upward of 50 rabbits frequented his Fifth Avenue property adjacent to the Culver schools campus, said Carman, 65. The rabbits were a real problem.

“They ate every one of the flowers (I) put out,” he said this week. “They ate the garden, and they ate my drip irrigation.”

He says he’s talked to officials from local governments and agencies, but none offered solutions, and he doesn’t know what to do next about the bunnies. On a chilly, foggy Thursday morning, four rabbits hopped around yards near Carman’s home.

Most of the bunnies likely holed up for the winter, waiting for warmer weather to be more active.

Carman said he has talked with people at the city of Culver, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He said he has not found help.

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The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife could issue a free trapping permit for someone dealing with feral rabbits like those in Culver, said Rick Boatner, invasive species coordinator for the department in Salem. In a way, he said, the bunnies, which might breed with wild rabbits, could be considered invasive.

“As long as they are taken care of quickly they are not a problem,” he said.

Carman said he has heard about the Department of Fish and Wildlife permit that would allow him to trap the rabbits.

“But then what are you going to do with them?” Carman said.

With a permit to trap feral rabbits, Carman could then take them outside of city limits and shoot them – then eat their meat if he desired – or give the live animals to a wildlife rehabilitation group, said Boatner.


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