Rabbits At Toms River Animal Shelter Need Food, Hay, Straw Donations

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Animal Shelter is continuing to welcome the public's assistance as it cares for 22 rabbits that were removed from a Toms River home on Sunday.

Rabbit food and timothy hay for them to eat, straw to line their cages and even small animal cages themselves are needed at the shelter, Toms River Animal Control officer Dave Matthews said.

"We're going through a bag of (rabbit) food a day," he said Tuesday evening, as he was still taking stock of the situation.

Matthews and Toms River Police Officer James Colline, the township's humane law enforcement officer, along with the help of a Berkeley Hazmat crew, Matthews said, they were able to retrieve the bunnies in the shed and catch most of the loose ones in the yard of a home on Harrison Road, where a neighbor first reported seeing domesticated rabbits loose in the woods.

Matthews has spent the days since caring for the bunnies, some of which needed veterinary treatment for injuries. Five were taken to Jersey Shore Veterinary clinic in Barnegat, which treats"exotic" animals including rabbits. Several were malnourished.

"A lot had horrible wounds from fighting or being attacked," he said.

The injured rabbits are being treated with antibiotics, and all of them need to be dewormed, Matthews said. The females will need to be monitored for pregnancies, because none of the rabbits have been spayed or neutered. As a result, Matthews said, he does not expect them to be available for adoption right away.

That has created a significant need at the township's shelter, which does not see many rabbits.

"If we get one, we can run out to PetSmart and buy a bag of food," Matthews said, but this situation far exceeded what supplies they had on hand.

People have been donating food and timothy hay, and Matthews said they are very appreciative of the help. Matthews said the Toms River shelter also is working with 501(c)(3) registered rescues on fostering arrangements with people who are experienced with rabbits.

Some of the rabbits are being released to rescues in the next few days, Matthews said, where Toms River shelter officials can keep track of them. Kind Heart Rescue in Cream Ridge has taken in two rabbits, and K's Kitten Rescue in Brick, which has some fosters who assist with rabbits, is taking in some.

Matthews said he initially thought the report of rabbits in the woods was another case of animals being left at Cattus Island County Park, which backs up to homes on Harrison Road.

"People have been dumping guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, all kinds of pets at Cattus Island," he said, adding that in some cases the animals were released in an area where they would be easily seen by other people who visited the park but there are no cameras to see who is responsible.

But as he investigated, it quickly became clear the rabbits belonged to one home, because they were going back and forth between the yard and the woods via tunnels under the yard's fence.

Matthews talked to the rabbits' owners, who at first denied owning the rabbits and wouldn't let him look around the shed where an unspecified number were later found. What he did see, however, was rabbit poop and hay coming from under the shed's door and a large rabbit cage filled with poop.

Matthews was able to catch a few of the rabbits and put them in crates to transport them back to the shelter while he was waiting for Colline, who investigates animal cruelty and neglect cases, to arrive.

"They clearly hadn't been loose for very long," he said, as he was able to catch them with relative ease.

The rabbits have added significantly to the animal care workload, as currently the Toms River shelter has 25 dogs and 30 to 40 cats, all waiting for homes. Matthews said he's hoping people will consider giving pets permanent homes. Information on adoptions is on the Toms River Township website.

"Spring is coming, and that means we will see an increase in kittens," he said.

For those interested in adopting rabbits — whether it's one of those rescued Sunday, or from a shelter or rescue — the New Jersey House Rabbit Society has information about what is involved, including about how to keep rabbits as indoor house pets.

"Please be aware that small cages such as those shown here are not a good long-term housing arrangement for rabbits. For long-term care, indoor, cage-free housings ... (are) a much better and more comfortable arrangement for such animals. This option also works particularly well once the rabbits have been spayed or neutered and litter box trained," the organization said.

There are more tips and information on the New Jersey House Rabbit Society website and on their Facebook page.

The investigation is continuing; authorities have not announced charges in the case.

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