Bunny Battle Delayed

On the agenda for Wednesday night's city council meeting was a discussion of possible ways to deal with an exploding wild rabbit population that some residents say is doing damage to their vegetation, but the council decided to table the discussion to a future meeting to allow for further research.

In a report to the council, Police Capt. Ron Nelson detailed various methods of dealing with the rabbits, including target hardening—which includes actions such as fencing and the use of repellents—trapping, poisoning and shooting; however the council members on Wednesday asked for information on sterility drugs and other methods used by other cities that have faced similar issues.

Some city residents have weighed in on the issue on Patch and Patch's Facebook page defending the rabbit population against shooting, which is the method experts favor, according to the report to the city council.

"I am ashamed of Moorpark for even considering such a sincerely devastating action," wrote Mary Pusateri. "Is this not Conejo Valley?"

But other residents, like Moorpark's Pam Castro, who spoke at the meeting, are at wit's end trying to keep their gardens green.

"I've lived at this particular location for over 30 years and I've absolutely never had the kind of problem that it has escalated to at this point," she told the council.

Castro went on to say she comes home to 60 or 70 rabbits on her lawn. Referring to "bunny pellets," she said they aren't sporadic like balls on a Christmas tree, but more like ice cream DippinDots in their density on her lawn.

Council members did not set a date for the future meeting at which they'll next discuss the rabbit situation because they wanted to be sure to allow enough time for staff members to fully research the issue.

Read more about Wednesday night's meeting and the other issues addressed by the city council later today on Patch.