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Ottawa's Rabbit Crisis

Since late 2021, the OHS has been in a rabbit crisis. Entire litters of bunnies have poured into the shelter and have placed a heavy strain on its resources. Since January, close to 200 rabbits have been admitted to the OHS.

But there's more to the abundance of rabbits than a lack of homes willing to take them in — in fact Ottawa has shown a strong desire for the pets as the longest stay rabbits have only been at the OHS since December of 2022 (for comparison, some cats and dogs have taken more than a year to find their forever home).

The crisis is likely owed to breeders, online sellers and unsuspecting pet owners. The public health crisis drove a massive demand for dogs which helped coin the term “pandemic puppies” and spun a persistent rumour that dogs acquired during the pandemic would be surrendered to animal shelters en masse. For the OHS and many other shelters, the foretold flood of dogs never came to pass — but rabbits proved to be the true pandemic pets.

• Unsterilized rabbits are readily available through online marketplaces like Kijiji, surprising new owners with unexpected litters of bunnies they are unable to rehome. The OHS has heard rumors of rabbits being abandoned in the wild as a result of the owner not being able to rehome them.
• Breeders wanting to capitalize on demand for rabbits may have overbred their bunnies and are now struggling to sell their rabbits.
• People who acquired an unsterilized rabbit might not have been prepared for the undesirable behaviours that many unsterilized rabbits exhibit, leading to the rabbits being given away.

To help address the rabbit crisis and find more homes for rabbits in need, the OHS declared July 23 — 29 Rabbit Week and has extended the event to Aug. 18, sharing information about caring for rabbits and offering special adoption promotions throughout the event. The week has drawn a lot of attention to the issue from both the public and media.

Rabbits are excellent pets. Adopting a sterilized rabbit from the OHS, fostering homeless rabbits in need and letting other people know that the OHS is the best place to find a new pet rabbit are ways that you can help resolve Ottawa's ongoing rabbit crisis.

Struck by Car, Left with a Broken Jaw

Every day, you give hope to homeless and vulnerable animals like Henderson. Will you give a gift today to ensure animals receive the care and attention they deserve?

Henderson is a sweet one-year-old cat who came to the OHS after being hit by a car. The collision dislocated his jaw — making it painful to even open his mouth. He needed urgent care, and compassionate people like you gave him hope.

Henderson received the surgery he needed to close his mouth properly. He is safe, but needs your help to complete his recovery journey and find his forever home.

Your support today provides the essential love, compassion and treatment animals like Henderson desperately need.

Taking the Horses Out of the Stampede

Earlier this month, the Calgary Stampede conducted its usual displays of animal cruelty in the name of entertainment — resulting in the death of a horse after it was injured during chuckwagon races.

Chuckwagon races returned to the Calgary Stampede last year after being on hiatus since 2019 when the races resulted in the deaths of six horses.

Individual action against animals in entertainment is straightforward: don't patronize businesses who profit from using animals for entertainment. But that action alone may not feel like enough in the face of cultural phenomena like the Calgary Stampede. The stampede attracted 1.3 million people this year, making it the second most attended iteration of the event.

In addition to the Calgary Stampede, there are events happening much closer to home that also use animals for entertainment. These events operate on profit, but it's also important to consider why people attend.

Tradition plays a role and the cultural value that communities place on these events cannot be ignored. Many have more than a century of history behind them and have deep roots in their communities. It would be callous to think that a large portion of — or even any — attendees show up for the purpose of watching animals suffer. Events that feature animals are not inherently cruel, and the OHS believes that some activities can fulfill an animal's physical, psychological and social needs while maintaining the five freedoms.

What's needed to build a more humane and compassionate community for all is not to end events like the Calgary Stampede, but to update their relationships with animals. Recognizing and appreciating the shared working history of humans and animals is all well and good, but living animals today need not be involved.

In recent years, some circuses updated their acts to use holograms rather than live animals. Alternatives are available. There are ways for events like the Calgary Stampede to continue tradition without impacting animals, and it is a change that you can demand.

Ontario: Worst in the Country

This week, World Animal Protection ranked Ontario as Canada's worst province for roadside zoos. In Ontario, municipalities are left to create their own legislation governing roadside zoos, resulting in an insufficient patchwork of rules and exploitation of wild, exotic animals for profit.

Ontario's fumbles with roadside zoos are plentiful. This year alone, Jungle Cat World was a baleful example of these failings when a woman taking her dog for a walk strolled past a chain link fence. On the other side: a lion standing in the snow.

Wild animals belong in the wild — not in hastily constructed and ill-equipped enclosures.

The wellbeing of the animals exploited by roadside zoos is reason enough to shutdown these cruel businesses, but they also pose a serious risk to public safety. In 2021, lions in a roadside zoo escaped their enclosure and killed a tiger kept at the zoo. Closer to home, a kangaroo escaped from Papanack Park Zoo and died — and this wasn't the first animal to escape the zoo.

These businesses shouldn't exist. Contact your MP and let them know that Ontario needs to catch up with the rest of the country in protecting animals from roadside zoos.

Thank You for Supporting Ottawa's Animals!

Thank you for giving animals like Croissant, a sweet and fluffy kitten who was lost and alone, the loving care she desperately deserved. Because of your monthly gift she received the medical treatment needed to ensure she had the best chance at living a happy, healthy life.

Thanks to you, Croissant was able to rest and grow up in a safe and comfortable foster home with toys, litter box and a comfy bed. Even better, because of you, Croissant is now living happily in her forever home.

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under licence by the Ottawa Humane Society.

The Humane Canada Accreditation Program mark is a licenced mark of Humane Canada used under licence by the Ottawa Humane Society.