Burnaby NOW • Wednesday, January 12, 2011 • A03
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Animal lovers deal with ‘bunny tsunami’ Gender identification challenge leads to a booming bunny problem in city home Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
They’ve been hit by a “bunny tsunami.” Burnaby’s Small Animal Rescue Society is struggling to find homes for 28 rabbits after a call from a local family with multiplication problems. A woman called and left a message that she needed help with some rabbits, said Lisa Hutcheon, a volunteer with the society. The family was given a pair of rabbits by a friend, and that pair had started to multiply. Hutcheon discovered the procreating rabbits had “I went out that not been sepabecause the night, as I know rated owners couldn’t how quickly it tell which were female and which can get out of were male. hand.” “I went out that night, as I LISA HUTCHEON know how quickvolunteer ly it can get out of hand,” Hutcheon said. “Rabbits can have a litter every month and can get pregnant immediately after giving birth.” So Hutcheon separated the boys from the girls, and took them to a vet to get spayed and neutered. The lesson, she said: Do your research before getting any pets. That means know the sex of the animal and make sure they are fixed. Now the society is asking for donations to help pay for spaying, neutering and feeding the “bunny tsunami.” The surgeries alone are estimated at $2,000, and the group is run entirely by volunteers. They
Kevin Hill/burnaby now
Multiplying like – rabbits: Lisa Hutcheon (left) and Jen Jinjoe of the Burnaby SPCA are looking for people to adopt many, many bunnies.
also need homes for the baby bunnies, but Hutcheon has more words of caution. “Rabbits make terrible pets for kids as they are a prey animal and kids are naturally loud, quick-moving and wanting to pick up and cuddle an animal, all of which
go against the intrinsic nature of a rabbit. This disconnect is a big part of why we have hundreds of unwanted rabbits.” On the other hand, rabbits make great pets for adults, Hutcheon added. The society typically has 400 rabbits on hand that
need homes. In the meantime, they stay in foster care and in a small shelter. The newest litter will be ready for adoption as soon as they are weaned. For more information or to adopt, see smallanimalrescue.org.
No money to pay for postpartum support group Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
While they may have more money overall, the Ministry of Children and Family Development just doesn’t have enough to pay for a Burnaby-based group that helps moms struggle with postpartum depression. The Pacific Post Partum Support Society had its long-term funding cut in 2010 and has had to shut down its Burnaby support group for moms with postpartum depression. The group helps women all over the Lower Mainland, and counselling hours for their support line have also been clawed back, along with other services. 6/7
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The Ministry of Children and Family Development funds the society, which is contracted through the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Children and Family Development Minister Mary Polak said cuts to the society’s funding happened because there is less money for contracted services. “This year, of course, we had some pretty difficult financial times, even though our ministry budget has increased,” Polak said. Even though the ministry’s budget increased by $9.5 million overall, the $717 million reserved for contracted services was reduced by $5 million. That’s less than one per cent, but the cuts still affect groups like
Larry Wright/burnaby now
Calls cut: Hollie Hall at work at the Pacific Post Partum Support Society.
Zellers* Visions* Shoppers Drug Mart* Safeway* London Drugs Staples Home Depot * not in all areas
the Pacific Post Partum Support Society, which is now worried for its very survival. Polak said the cuts to Pacific Post Partum Support Society did not, in any way, reflect a lack of value with the program. “My understanding is they’ve done some really great work,” she said. “It’s just that in order to make those reductions, we’ve had to ask ourselves: what are our core pieces of work that we do as a ministry? And of course, the priority has got to be direct services to kids and vulnerable families.” The ministry pointed to programs that Fraser Health offers as alternatives for Burnaby moms with postpartum depression. For instance, there is a program for Cuts Page 8
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