Neighbors are at odds over some furry residents hopping through the streets of Wilton Manors.
Some residents have been pushing city leaders to do something about the animals so on Friday morning, around a dozen volunteers with East Coast Rabbit Rescue started trapping the Lionhead rabbits in the Jenada Isle neighborhood.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
>
WATCH HERE“This is not the ideal environment for them,” said Monica Mitchell, speaking for the organization.
"It would be like seeing poodles running loose in a neighborhood," said Ashley Berke, who helped with the rescue and leads Space Coast Bunnies. "They’re in danger of disease. It’s just so infuriating."
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
>
SIGN UP
Mitchell explained what happens when volunteers catch a rabbit.
"We’ll take it to our facility, we’ll have it then spayed and neutered, vaccinated, vet check, treated for any illness they might have, and then we’ll put it up for adoption," she said.
Volunteers spent hours Friday morning rounding up rabbits in bushes and yards where residents allowed them to venture. It’s not easy work, but Briana Fyan caught several with her bare hands, often leaving her out of breath.
Local
“I’m a bunny wrangler,” she said.
Fyan often tag-teamed rabbit catching with fellow volunteer Emily Dusenbury. Both spent time on their hands and knees searching for runaway hoppers. They’d crawl into bushes and use fences to corral them.
“We get in there,” said Dusenbury.
But not everyone is glad to see the bunnies disappear. Joe Jones said he has lived in the neighborhood more than thirty years, and the rabbits have been around for the last two.
“They’re surviving beautifully here, they bring a lot of joy,” he said.
Jones won’t allow rescuers on his property, because he wants the rabbits in his yard to stay. He has rabbit-shaped topiaries in his front yard. Jones even set up “brunch” for bunnies in his garage Friday morning - in hopes of keeping rabbits away from the volunteer trappers.
Mitchell said her group collected 19 bunnies in all, including two she described as "very pregnant."
