The myriad of bunnies at the park will be caught and put up for adoption.
Fifty of the animals will be kept at the park, and will be sterilised to prevent another situation of overpopulation.
The other bunnies, which will also be sterilised, will be adopted by the public.
Tania Forrest-Smith, founder of the Save the Bunny Park Animals group, said her team will perform home checks to ensure the bunnies go to safe homes.
“We will look at property size, feeding, and their safety, including where they will be kept,” she said.
Meanwhile, the cows, sheep and goats will be moved to President Park in Springs and the two pigs will be relocated to the Bokkie Park in Boksburg.
The animals will be moved by March 1, when the contractors are officially due to start Phase One of the revamp at the Benoni park, and will return after the completion of Phase Two, around September.
The Save the Bunny Park Animals group will continue to feed the animals at these facilities.
Forrest-Smith said the animal shelters at President Park, which is closed to the public, still have to be brought up to standard before the animals can be moved there.
All the chickens, ducks and geese will also be put up for adoption, while the peacocks will be taken in by Wildlife in Crisis.
“The birds can’t stay at the park while the revamp goes ahead and they were repopulating almost as fast as the bunnies,” Forrest-Smith said.
“We’re having them adopted because we know birdlife will return to the park naturally once the work is complete.”
The fowls will be available for collection from the park every Sunday, starting on February 5.
The first day during which adopters can collect bunnies will be March 11, after which such adoption days will be held every second Saturday.
Those interested in adopting should contact Forrest-Smith and a home check must be performed prior to collecting the animals.
Forrest-Smith and the metro’s project manager for parks and cemeteries, Jaco Burger, hope all the bunnies will have been adopted by the end of June, which also represents the projected end of Phase One.
So far, 400 bunnies have been adopted from the park.
Only Forrest-Smith and her team will catch the bunnies and she promises it will be done as humanely as possible.
“We will catch all the diseased bunnies and treat them,” Forrest-Smith said.
Burger said: “Sick and injured bunnies will receive veterinary treatment, which the metro will pay for.”
The bunnies that will go up for adoption will be kept in a separate area after they are sterilised, near the park’s service entrance, along Struben Street.
“The park is part of Benoni’s heritage and you can have a piece of that heritage when you adopt a bunny,” the volunteer said.
“It’s amazing to think people are going to own a Bunny Park bunny.
“I just want to express gratitude toward Jaco Burger and Jacques Meiring (Ward 27 councillor) for their support in this monumental achievement.”
To adopt a bunny, contact Forrest-Smith on bbpadoptions@gmail.com or 084 601 1061 (WhatsApp only).
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