rabbit over handle

By Linda Goldston
lgoldston@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/30/2009 05:42:51 PM PDT
Updated: 07/31/2009 01:12:44 PM PDT

Rabbits outside of Easterbrook Discovery School in San Jose, Calif on Wednesday,... (Nhat V. Meyer)
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Jul 29:
Who's killing the bunnies at San Jose's Easterbrook school?
Help is on the way for the bunnies dumped at Moreland Woods next to San Jose's Easterbrook Discovery School.
Someone has offered to pay for the liability insurance Moreland Elementary School District had requested before they agreed to let rabbit rescuers onto the property to trap the abandoned rabbits and Easter bunnies that have proliferated over the years.
"We now have to get the insurance agreement firmed up," said Dana Taylor, assistant superintendent for business and support services, who received the proposed insurance agreement from rescuers Thursday. "We want to move this as quickly as possible."
Taylor said district officials are asking rescuers to hold off on taking any more rabbits until the insurance is in place. That includes the area inside Moreland Woods, Easterbrook school grounds and sports field.
"For the safety of the rabbits, community and district, the district will have a security patrol in place in the interim until the (trapping) program can begin," she said in a statement released Thursday evening. "We are hoping that everything will be in place by mid-next week and that the project can begin at that time."
Insurance had been a huge stumbling block to rescuing all of the bunnies dumped at the fenced 1.5-acre site. The issue became more serious when people started noticing dead and injured bunnies in the woods. Some residents said they had confrontations with men who let their dogs chase and kill the
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bunnies. Others said two bunnies were shot and killed by teenagers with pellet guns.
District officials said they have repeatedly repaired holes that people made in the fence around the woods to gain access. The area was secured on Thursday afternoon and about a dozen rabbits were sitting quietly under the trees, one with a chunk of carrot in its mouth.
Because they weren't allowed on the property, rabbit advocates had been throwing bunches of carrots and other food over the top of the fence. There is no grass for them inside the fence.
Over the last few days, rescuers have been able to trap 43 rabbits outside the fence as the bunnies came out in search of food. They've all been placed in foster homes and there is a need for many more people willing to care for the bunnies until they're ready for adoption.
When the insurance agreement is signed, rabbit rescuers will coordinate efforts inside Moreland Woods to try to humanely trap the rest of the bunnies.
"We can't trap any more until we find more foster homes," said Marcy Schaaf, founder of the Marin County-based SaveABunny. "These are valuable companion animals. It isn't OK to dump them here."
Contact Linda Goldston at 408-920-5862.
How to help
Many of the rabbits rescued from Moreland Woods will be available for adoption. For more information or to make donations to care for the rabbits, contact the following rescuers:
PAWS: www.paws4sjacs.org
SaveABunny: www.saveabunny.com
The Rabbit Haven: www.therabbithaven.org
Checks may be mailed to: PAWS for SJACS, 2633 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell, CA 95008.