An animal welfare organization said it stepped in to rescue more than 100 rabbits from a home in Tennessee, which had become overrun by the creatures, photos and video showed.
The Humane Society of the United States partnered with the McKamey Animal Center, a local shelter in Chattanooga, where the home is located, to collect the animals to find them new places to live eventually, the organization said in a news release. Teams from the Humane Society and the local shelter filmed the rescue operation as it happened early in the morning on Aug. 20.
They arrived at the Chattanooga home of a caregiver who told the organization in an emotional interview that he had owned and cared for pet rabbits for more than 30 years. He credited the sense of personal responsibility that provided for helping him through sobriety after previously struggling with alcoholism.
The man said he'd faced a "health crisis" that in more recent times prevented him from properly caring for the rabbits, especially as the number of them continued to grow, according to the organization.
At the time of the rescue, workers said they'd found the rabbits "living in extremely unsanitary conditions" in the caregiver's home and appeared to suffer from a range of health problems including fleas, hair loss and other injuries that the organization characterized as "typical" in situations of overcrowding.
The organization also said veterinarians believed several of the rabbits were also pregnant. Teams found them roaming the halls of the caregiver's home, with food pellets covering the floors, and many had burrowed into the furniture.
The caregiver had reached out to the McKamey shelter when he realized he could no longer care for the rabbits himself. The shelter then asked the Humane Society for help with the rescue effort.
"As with many of the rescue operations we take on, these conditions aren't suitable for animals or humans to live in. This one stands out because it was brought about by a caregiver recognizing he was beyond his capacity—he loves his pets enough to let them go so they can find homes where they can thrive," said Jessica Johnson, the senior director of the Humane Society's animal rescue team, in a statement. "We are grateful to the McKamey Animal Center for inviting us to assist in giving the caregiver and each of his rabbits a new beginning."
In a separate statement, the executive director of the local shelter, Inga Fricke, thanked the organization for assisting and said the caregiver's house was "sadly in deplorable condition" and "not suited for animals to reside in at this time."
The Humane Society said it was moving the rabbits to a temporary emergency shelter where they would undergo a range of veterinary exams and receive any medical treatment they might need.
"Once they are healthy enough, the HSUS will arrange placement with shelter and rescue partners so the rabbits can seek adoptive homes," the organization said.
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