COLUMBIA, Md. — Volunteers with Friends of Rabbits, a nonprofit rabbit-based rescue in Howard County, recently rescued about 60 domesticated rabbits from an abandoned farm.
WATCH: 60 domesticated rabbits rescued from abandoned farm in Columbia
Board Member Sarah Healy told WMAR-2 News it all started with a neighbor reaching out to them about seeing rabbits in her community.
"So I got a group of volunteers together, and we all went over there and spent many hours crawling around on the farm, getting very dirty and gross, and we were able to grab all these guys over the course of about four days," Healy said.
The work to wrangle the rabbits wasn't easy.
"We were lugging around these pens to try and corner them in to catch them; it involved a lot of walking through sticker bushes and dirt and mud and other animals."
Many of the rabbits arrived sick, malnourished, and in need of emergency medical care.
They don't know exactly why all these rabbits were at that farm, but they have theories.
"We think that someone owned a couple rabbits several years back, and when they decided they didn't want the pets anymore, they just let them loose, and rabbits reproduce quickly, so those rabbits turned into 60."
That number has already started to increase.
Four rabbits have given birth so far, with each litter having five or six babies.
Healy laid out the next steps.
"We're going to work on finding foster homes for them. We've already gotten two spayed and neutered, so those guys will be ready to go to a foster home soon."
After foster homes, they'll be looking for these rabbits's forever homes.
Head here for information on how to adopt these animals.
The nonprofit has since created a GoFundMe to help them support the rabbits. Some of these costs include vaccinations, medical treatment, and the daily costs of food and housing.
To donate, click here.
