Cooperative Living April 2022 - 8

HOLIDAY HABITATS
Hopped Up for a Good Cause
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer
Virginia rabbit rescue finds good homes
for abandoned bunnies
I
n the late 1990s, Mary Ellen Whitehouse was eating in
a Chinese restaurant, looked down at her placemat and
discovered that her birth year coincided with the Year
of the Rabbit.
" Something just clicked, " she says. " Ever since I was a little
girl, I had a feeling that I would one day run an animal rescue,
but I always thought it might be for cats. When I saw I had
been born under the Year of the Rabbit, I instantly recognized
my calling. "
Today, Whitehouse runs Bunny Lu Rabbit Rescue in
Waynesboro, Va., and has been saving orphaned and abandoned
rabbits since 1999.
" In 2020 and 2021 overall, I took in and adopted out about
375, " she says. Currently she is caring for about 50 bunnies.
Whitehouse keeps most of them in her 1,500-square-foot
basement, but recently has had to convert some of her upstairs
living space for overflow, much to the chagrin of her corgi,
her personal pet rabbits and her five cats.
" I've made it work, " she says. " It's difficult to turn away
rabbits in need, but I can always use good foster home
volunteers. I can only do so much. "
Estimates of
the U.S. bunny
population range
from 3 million
to 7 million.
EASTER ISSUES
According to National Geographic,
the most popular time of year to buy rabbits
as pets is around Easter. Unfortunately,
most parents have no idea how much work
rabbits require, causing nearly 80% of rabbits
bought for Easter to be abandoned within the first year of
ownership.
" Rabbits are like little horses, " Whitehouse says. " Th y
require hay, specialized veterinarians and a lot of room to live
in. " Unlike horses, however, rabbits are very delicate and have
very fragile bones, Whitehouse says. They also are incapable
of regurgitating, making where they live and what they eat
very important.
" A 4-by-6-foot pen is the minimum area a rabbit needs to
live in, " she says. " And with a gestation period of only 28 days,
it goes without saying that they need to be spayed and neutered
before becoming a pet. Rabbits are induced ovulators and can
have babies any time of year. All it takes is another rabbit. "
RABBIT CARE
Th American Veterinary Medical Association estimates
the U.S. bunny population at between 3 million and 7 million,
but says that's inexact because rabbits reproduce so quickly.
Additionally, some people never take their rabbits for veterinary
care, so records are scarce. And rabbits are bought and given away
so quickly that the amount is in constant flux.
Occasionally, rabbits are seized from owners by authorities
due to poor living conditions and other animal rights violations,
including three recent seizures in Virginia, Whitehouse notes.
More than 100 were seized from a home in Loudoun County,
about the same number from a home in Virginia Beach and a
slightly lesser number from a home in Isle of Wight County.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit domestic rabbit rescue, Bunny Lu
Rabbit Rescue is eligible for donations and fundraising events,
such as fire station bingo proceeds, Whitehouse says.
" Right now, I'm spending about $300 per week for nine cases
of veggies that I buy from a wholesaler, " she says. " That doesn't
include pellets, vaccinations, spaying and neutering, hay and
other bunny necessities. "
But Whitehouse says that in the end, when she sees a bunny
Mary Ellen Whitehouse
going to its forever home, the effort is worth it. " I wish
I could help them all, " she says. 
For more information about Bunny Lu Rabbit Rescue,
go to bunnylu.org.
6 ● Cooperative Living ●
April 2022
co-opliving.com
One in a series of holiday-inspired destinations
in co-op country. This month: Easter
http://www.bunnylu.org http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living April 2022

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