Lake Country bunny sanctuary raises funds in Valentine’s Day spay and neuter campaign

The Warren Peace Bunny Sanctuary in Lake Country is turning Valentine’s Day on its head, with a spay and neuter campaign so that the bunnies in their care don’t do what bunnies do best.

In years past they have asked the public to dream up mythical stories about each bunny available to be sponsored to drum up excitement about their fundraiser, but this year they want to share a different message.

“These ones actually have stories that people need to know,” said Antoinette Monod from the Warren Peace Bunny Sanctuary.

There are 20 bunnies that are part of the campaign, however one has already been sponsored, Scarlet. The people who fed her over the summer and realized she was an abandoned domestic bunny come winter. They stepped in once they noticed she had a bad back injury, trapped her and brought her to the Warren Peace Bunny Sanctuary.

Many of the 19 bunnies left to be sponsored in the campaign were brought in as emergency rescues and are still recovering from exposure and pneumonia after being left behind by their families, many in a hutch outside with no food and water, or dropped outside in a field and left during the cold snap the Okanagan experienced this winter.

“Bunnies are not cats, are not dogs, they are definitely a breed of their own. They don’t have the same survival skills as a wild rabbit,” said Monod.

“A wild rabbit will dig a really deep burrow and all winter it’ll be warm, and in the summer it’ll be cold (getting) lots of protection, but a domestic bunny doesn’t have that same instinct.”

Monod and her team are not accepting bunnies unless it’s an emergency. They stress that the sanctuary should be the last option instead of the first call, as she and her team work to heal the bunnies already in their care.

“We’re their caretakers, they can’t do it for themselves,” said Evan Rafuse, volunteer.

The fundraising campaign starts Feb. 1 until Feb. 14 and costs $125 for more information visit their Facebook Page 

They are also accepting adult volunteers and cannot accommodate volunteers that are underaged.