Since then, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) and the community have committed to cleaning and upgrading the park and stabilising the condition of the animals.
Tania Forrest-Smith said about 40 community members volunteered at the park on Sunday, August 16, to continue cleaning the grounds.
“We want to catch all the bunnies, in order to refurbish the park, before bringing a small number of bunnies back,” she said.
“We removed 38 bunnies (on Sunday), 10 of which were very sick; they were taken to the vet and all the bunnies will be sterilised.”
Forrest-Smith said many of the burrows in the park were dug open to help find bunnies, under the guidance of Ban Animal Trading South Africa (Bat).
The bunnies will be housed at Kitty and Puppy Haven, in Midrand, while the park is to be rehabilitated.
The 100 bunnies which will return to the park will all be sterilised and the remaining bunnies will be put up for adoption.
Martine Hampsen, from Bat, corroborated this statement, saying the population of bunnies in the park must be brought down from over 400 to about 100.
This comes after a suggestion by Pieter Engelbrecht, a veterinarian from the Bapsfontein Animal Hospital (BAH).
“A small breeding colony of about five to 10 does will be kept in a breeding facility, to continually support the holding pen of rabbits for the future,” said Engelbrecht.
“We were asked to do monthly inspections of the park and our August inspection is due this week.”
Leighton Pearson, founder of the Bunny Park Rescue group, said the clean-up on Sunday was a success, but that the park still needs a lot of work.
“The park is improving slowly, but it’s not in a good state yet,” he added.
“We’ll have to take the bunnies out, then continue with the work, especially the water and forestry.
“We’re staying in contact with Jacques Meiring, from the DA, to discuss plans for the facility.”
Members of the Sixth Benoni Scout Group attended the clean-up on July 26 and plan to make it a permanent project.
“If only one per cent of Benoni residents arrived at the Bunny Park on a Sunday, how much would be achieved?” commented Heath Dickson, Scout Group leader.
The Young Lions Club from St Francis Preparatory School also joined the movement, by clearing the park of litter on August 12.
Regular clean-up operations are organised by Bunny Park Rescue; all information can be found on Facebook, at Bunny Park Rescue Page SA.
The metro was approached for comment regarding the changes at the park over the past month, but none had been received at the time of going to press.
