Vancouver airport has hired someone to shoot and kill its unwanted rabbit population
Update, June 23: YVR announced Wednesday that it has suspended its rabbit culling program after "hearing from the community on different options." More information can be found here. The original story follows.
RICHMOND, B.C. -- For the past few weeks, a man with an active firearm has been shooting rabbits located near the hotel at Vancouver International Airport in the middle of the night.
CTV News Vancouver has learned a contractor was hired to do the culling, and more rabbits are scheduled to be shot on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Notices have been sent out advising staff of the work.
But airport employees told CTV News they did not know the culling was already taking place, until a worker arrived for a night shift and was frightened when she saw a man in the parking lot with a rifle.
“It is a public relations nightmare, and it’s cruel,” said Sorelle Saidman, founder of the Rabbitats Rescue Society. “These rabbits are very friendly. They don’t know to run from people, they would probably run towards the person with the gun, and to end their lives that way for no reason is disgusting.”
Sorelle’s organization urged YVR to relocate the rabbits in November 2019, before the population got out control. Back then there were about 50 bunnies grazing on the airport lawn, but of course they kept multiplying.
This year, she said her team offered to help once more, but was turned-down again.
“Certainly there’s all kinds of non-lethal solutions,” said Lesley Fox of the advocacy group The Fur-Bearers.
“I think we need reassurance from YVR that we have exhausted all non-lethal options.”
Airport officials denied CTV News’ request for an interview and instead provided a statement. It emphasized that safety was a top priority.
“We’re committed to ensuring safe aircraft operations and work hard to mitigate potential wildlife interactions,” the statement read. “Our current approach follows best practices and has been endorsed by representatives from the Ministry of Forest Lands and Natural Resource Operations.”
Other international airports have reported hares taking over runways and getting tangled in equipment. They can also attract birds and coyotes, which can be dangerous to aircraft.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.