Haviva has always had a passion for animals; she became a vegetarian at age 3 years and went vegan as an adult. Growing up, she was constantly involved in both animal rights and environmental issues; attending and organizing protests, raising awareness, rescuing animals and spending her time volunteering with a variety of animal charities. She has a specialized honors degree in Environmental Science. Some of the charities she has worked for in the past include, WSPA, Animal Alliance, Earth Day Canada, Toronto Wildlife Centre and Earth Rangers to develop their education programs.
Haviva founded Rabbit Rescue after falling in love with Marbles (the bunny that started it all and the reason that RR exists today!). She realized the huge lack of resources available for domestic rabbits and wanted to change that. While many rabbit rescues could be found in other parts of the world, there were none in Canada! So, with extreme determination and hard work, she would not let anything stand in her way of establishing Rabbit Rescue Inc!
In 2001, she quit her job (environmental education/wildlife rehabilitation) to run the Rescue full time. Starting small, she incorporated the organization and obtained charitable status on her own. Haviva has a knack for bringing good people together, and volunteers quickly followed suit to make Rabbit Rescue what it is today. Rabbit Rescue was the first registered rabbit charity in Canada and has been operating for well over two decades now.
Haviva spends her days (and nights) coordinating with shelters, answering inquiries, running the social media pages, fundraising, arranging medical care for the rabbits, and over seeing the running of the rescue. If she has a rare spare moment, she can be found making tea, hiking, cooking, reading a book while snuggling a bunny, or dreaming of Disney.
Haviva lives with her 2 daughters, partner and an assortment of loved furry friends.
Haviva can be reached at: haviva@rabbitrescue.ca