The Great Angora Rescue of 2010
Word came through on May 7, 2010. There was a large-scale rabbit rescue of more than 100 angoras occurring at the Maine/Canadian border. Details were still at a minimum, but what we did know was that the rabbits needed help and that we needed to spread the word! With angoras being near and dear to my heart, I decided to take on the task of emailing as many rescue groups close to MA that I could. Within hours, rabbit rescues in VT, CT and RI responded and said they would pull as many rabbits as they comfortably could into their rescues.
By May 8, the story had made it to the papers in Canada (http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1044378) and word was spreading that these furry creatures needed help. After lots of organizing by many volunteers, a “bunny angel” named Lorraine drove 19 of the angoras from Canada to MA – including a female with her nursing litter of six babies. HRN took in a single male, while I had the pleasure of fostering the mother and her babies. The rest of the angoras went to surrounding rescues including Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue in RI, CottonTail Rabbit Rescue in CT, Hop Along Hollow in CT, and NorthStream Wildlife Rehabilitation in VT. Even though these rabbits were now safe and receiving all the TLC and veterinary care they needed, there were still many left in Canada in need of our help.
By May 18, another transport was being planned to bring as many angoras down this way as possible, especially since the original estimate of 100-plus angoras turned out to be 168. This time, I contacted every rescue I possibly could from Maine all the way down to the Pennsylvania and Delaware areas. The response was incredible! News travels fast in the bunny community! Rescues in CT, NH, ME, NY, NJ, PA and DE responded to our plea, as well as those in CA, TX, TN, MI and even in one in Toronto, Canada. Transport to rescues in the New England states and surrounding areas was doable, but those in CA, TX, TN and MI had to be put on hold until we could figure out a way to get the bunnies to them, if at all.
As plans for the next angora transport took shape, the bunnies from the first transport were receiving the care they needed including a good diet, badly needed grooming, veterinary care and lots of TLC. The mother rabbit that had come to HRN with her kits was now named TigerLily, and her babies were growing healthier and unbearably cuter with each passing day. New babies were also being born in some of the other rescues since many of the females taken in on May 15 were already pregnant.
On June 5, the next transport of angoras headed down this way from Canada, once again with Lorraine (with the help of her neighbor, Larry). This time there were 31 females (two with a total of 19 babies) and 6 males. Almost all of the angoras had severely matted fur. Some had bad abscesses and a few others had serious eye infections. The majority of the females were pregnant. As soon as they arrived, volunteers worked on accurately sexing them and then determined which rabbits would be going to which rescues. I, along with 4 other volunteers, began the process of clipping down the worst matted cases first so that they could then be sent on their way to their final destination. Another volunteer worked on hand-feeding a litter of ten babies. All of the angoras were given a few hours of rest, food, water and stretching of their thumpers before they continued on to rabbit rescues in CT, NY, PA, NJ and DE. The two angoras that HRN kept had severe abscesses, and it would have been too risky to allow them to travel any further.
Later in the day and evening, the remaining angoras arrived safely at CottonTail Rabbit Rescue in CT, Hop Along Hollow in CT, My Hope’s In You Small Animal Rescue in NY, For Bunny Sake in NJ, Luv-N-Bunns in PA/NJ, Les Lapins in NJ and HRS Southeastern Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter. Six of the females went to Small Pets-Big Hearts in NY. However, they didn’t arrive until Sunday morning, with a stopover in a hotel on Saturday night.
The Great Angora Rescue took many, many volunteer hours via email and phone calls to schedule and plan accordingly. It could never have been accomplished without the above rescues helping out and coming to the aid of rabbits in dire need. A big thank you also goes out to Rebecca Smith who helped organize and transport some of the rabbits from the second transport to their destinations. When all was said and done, 134 babies were born from both rescue transports. Sadly, 48 of the babies passed and two of the adults succumbed to illness. We think that the main causes of these deaths were because many of the mother angoras were simply too young to be mothers, and the conditions they came from were so bad that the mothers never received the proper nutrition or care they needed in order to rear their young. Some of the babies just never had a chance.
This rescue mission has shown that when dedication, hearts and lots of love for a specific cause come together anything is possible. Many new rescue relationships were formed from this, and the Canadian SPCAs now know that they have rabbit allies here in the States. Nothing is impossible when people are willing to help!
Many of the angoras have already been adopted into loving families while many others still wait for their chance at a forever home. Lorraine, the “bunny angel”, ended up adopting TigerLily from the first transport and Stella from the second transport. If you are interested in learning more about the angoras and what kind of care goes into having an angora companion, please email us at info@rabbinetwork.org.