Split verdict in Bunny Park case

In the case of the Bunny Park interest groups versus the Ekurhuleni Metro, the South Gauteng High Court ruled the metro was not in contempt of court but found they did not entirely fulfil their side of the settlement reached between the parties last year.

The judge, N Davis, granted some requests made by both parties while rejecting others.

The metro will now have to appoint more veterinarians to sterilise the bunnies, will have to feed the animals in the park, must separate unhealthy bunnies from healthy ones and must treat the bunnies – all at their own cost.

“It was not appropriate for EMM to wait for the applicant (interest groups) to go to court. If they knew they were not going to fulfil their obligations agreed upon in the previous settlement, they should have taken the initiative and approached the court for leniency, which they did not do,” Davis said.

Judgement on the metro

Despite this, the judge found the metro was not in contempt of court, as evidence did not show they deliberately failed to follow the court order.

He acknowledged the challenges of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), including the cost of sterilising all the bunnies in the facility as it costs R350 to sterilise one bunny and estimates suggest there may be as many as 4 000 in the park.

“Although EMM said a local authority has other obligations which require the use of taxpayers’ money and cannot sterilise all the bunnies, they did not provide evidence for this claim,” Davis said.

He said that in a country where the lack of housing and the plight of the poor should be addressed, one would rather the funds be utilised for humans and not for animals; however, this does not trivialise animal rights he said.

He concluded that the metro should bear the costs of sterilising the bunnies and should appoint additional veterinarians to assist in the task. Davis also said the metro must isolate unhealthy animals from the healthy ones, until they have been medically treated and/or humanely euthanised “where a suitably qualified professional determines that medical treatment would be futile”.

Animal neglect

Davis said accusations of animal neglect at the park were unfounded as the state veterinarian and the SPCA found no clear signs to support the claim.

However, Vicky Finnemore, Benoni SPCA manager, said on Monday that although feeding doesn’t seem to be problematic at the park, the diseased bunnies, especially those with mange, form a big problem.

“We used to go to the park for inspections about twice a month, but for the past two weeks we’ve been going about three to four times a week,” said Finnemore.

“We go to check that feeding is done correctly and we check the health of the bunnies.

“We take those that can’t be treated and euthanise them but capturing the bunnies is an issue.”

She said the breeding speed of the bunnies is the source of most of the problems.

Finnemore said she couldn’t offer in-depth comment on the feeding at the park as the SPCA is not there on a daily basis.

Judgement on the interest groups

The judgement further concluded that the Bunny Park volunteers would no longer be allowed in the park and would not be allowed to feed the bunnies over the facility’s fences which is what they resorted to after being locked out of the park several weeks ago.

Davis also said the interest groups, Save the Bunny Park Animals (STBPA) and Ban Animal Trading South Africa (Bat), would be interdicted from posting comments on Facebook, which reflect negatively upon the staff of the Bunny Park.

“The applicants acted over-zealously, insulting and provoking the metro’s staff and posted inappropriate comments on their Facebook page (he did not specify which group’s page), regarding the staff,” the judge said.

Tania Forrest-Smith, the founder of STBPA, said they would, however, be allowed to post any comments about the metro itself, as it is an organ of state, but would not be allowed to name individuals.

Smaragda Louw, the chairperson of Bat, said: “Although it’s not an outright victory for any humans here, it is an outright victory for the animals, because the metro will now have to feed and sterilise the bunnies,” she said.

Forrest-Smith agreed with Louw, saying her group is delighted with the outcome for the animals.

“We hope this will reduce the suffering of the animals considerably,” she said.

The judge suggested the interest groups leave their donations of food at the park’s gate for the metro to use.

“We humbly decline the suggestion, as we are not 100 per cent sure that it will go to the animals. We would rather keep the donations and give it to the public.”

Forrest-Smith said she is not allowed to feed the animals anymore but what members of the public do with donated food is their business.

The metro was asked for comment but none was received on July 3.

To donate food to the Save the Bunny Park Animals group, contact Forrest-Smith on 084 601 1061 (WhatsApp only) or Danielle Hugo on 082 850 8773.

Metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, said anyone who wants to adopt a bunny should fill in an adoption form obtained from Jaco Burger, the metro’s project manager for parks and cemeteries, via jaco.burger@ekurhuleni.gov.za

“Members of the public who are willing to donate food for the bunnies during this time may leave their donations with the park’s caretaker at the gate,” Gadebe said.