ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Neighbors in Ormond Beach found nine pet rabbits dumped in a county park.
It happened at James Ormond Park on Old Dixie Highway.
Rufus is one of nine rabbits rescued from a park in Ormond Beach over the weekend. Melina stopped and picked him up when she saw him sitting by the side of the road.
“We’re like, that doesn’t belong there, we gotta turn around, and so we turned around, and he really wasn’t hard to grab, a little bit kicking, and we had him,” said Melina.
After she shared what happened in some neighborhood groups, several others said they saw someone drop the rabbits in the park from a golf cart. Many of the people who picked them up called local rescue, Holly Hops, for help.
Elizabeth Simonian from Holly Hops Rabbit Rescue and Rehabilitation explained the situation, saying, “I said your best shot is animal control because there’s no rescue that can take anymore bunnies, we’re all full.”
Simonian further explained that rescues often see a rise in people dumping pet bunnies after Easter and Christmas. She described this as a situation that is essentially a death sentence for the animals.
To illustrate, Simonian said, “Wild eats a totally different diet, they live in a totally different way, they dig boroughs, a domestic rabbit is like turning a toddler loose at a waterpark.”
Authorities remind the public that dumping a pet rabbit is considered animal abandonment and cruelty—a first-degree misdemeanor in Florida. Neighbors say they want the person responsible to be held accountable.
“It’s not acceptable to dump any animals just because it’s not convenient anymore,” said Melina.
Animal Control is looking into the situation, but says they have no leads on who dumped the rabbits.
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