It's not a bad plan. It's three or four years late, but, as I said, it's not bad.
Civic politicians finally got around to addressing the rabbit problem in the municipal precinct on Monday night, opting to round up, sterilize and relocate the estimated 500 bunnies to Ladner Harbour Park.
This five-month program is estimated to cost $60,000, which is a heck of a lot of taxpayer money to spend on a situation that, if dealt with sooner, would have cost a fraction of that amount.
Far be it from me to say I told you so, but back in the summer of 2008, under the headline Fix needed for rabbit situation, I suggested Delta do something about the burgeoning population before it got out of hand. Suffice to say, the good folks over at municipal hall didn't heed the advice.
Almost two years later, in the summer of 2010, I reiterated the plea in Ignoring them won't do the trick. At that time the population was estimated at 200, but municipal hall didn't pay much attention to the rabbits or calls to do something about them.
Rabbits have a well-deserved reputation for their reproductive prowess, so it didn't take a whole lot of brainpower - heck, even I figured it out - where this situation was headed if the municipality didn't step in and take action.
The rabbits have had it pretty good on the grounds surrounding the leisure centre and municipal hall where there's abundant cover, a steady food supply and enough human activity to keep most predators away. It was obvious this problem wasn't going to sort itself out, so the longer Delta procrastinated, the bigger the fix, and the price tag, was going to be.
Now that civic officials have finally decided to wade into the mess, I have to give them marks for taking the humane approach. This sterilization program is a lot more costly than a cull, but given it was Delta's indifference that allowed the colony to get to its present size, it seems only right the rabbits are treated compassionately. Mind you, I don't think politicians had much choice, not unless they wanted "bunny killer" forever attached to their names.
Hopefully the relocation effort works out, and while we wait for these rabbits to live out their remaining days, let's knock on some of those big trees at Harbour Park that no unwanted domestic rabbits, those of the fertile variety, are mysteriously added to the population so this process starts all over again.
We all know how long it would take to fix that problem.
