TORONTO – They’re cute and fluffy and they make great Easter gifts for kids.
But animal rights groups are warning parents to stay away from buying pet rabbits as an Easter novelty, because a few weeks later, the small animals typically end up abandoned.
“We try hard to educate that rabbits are not toys, they should not be given as gifts – particularly for small children,” Haviva Lush, executive director of Rabbit Rescue, told Global News. Read more
KITCHENER — The tiny cardboard castle in Brenda Lloyd-Yetman’s living room is fit for a princess — a particularly furry princess named Lancie — with her adorable twitchy nose, long delicate ears and air of rabbit royalty about her.
Lloyd-Yetman loves bunnies and devotes hours caring for Lancie — the rabbit was even in her wedding party — and she runs the online store for Rabbit Rescue Inc., a non-profit organization of volunteers scattered across Southwestern Ontario who rescue… Read more
Charges were laid Monday Aug. 15th. The Ontario SPCA has charged Hendrick Reckman of Billings Township, with 26 counts of animal cruelty under the Ontario SPCA Act, after over 400 rabbits were found in his care. 200 of those rabbits were euthanized. Rabbit Rescue took in over 100 of the remaining ones. Read more
Mobility-challenged Pipkin outfitted with what’s believed to be first such device made in Canada
Little Pipkin won’t be flipping over onto his back in the middle of the night anymore. And that has his owner flipping out with appreciation.
Taken in by Haviva Lush of the Milton-based Rabbit Rescue Inc. after being surrendered as a baby five years ago, the dwarf lop cross — born to brother/sister parents — is the textbook definition of a special-needs bunny. Read more
Haviva Porter is over-whelmed by rabbits.
The executive director of the Rabbit Rescue in Milton, Ont., recently received 103 rabbits from the Sudbury area, many of which had respiratory infections, parasites and, in the case of one animal, needed to have its eye removed.
These rabbits were among the 400 taken by the Ontario SPCA in May from a Manitoulin Island property.
Hendrick Reckman has been charged with 26 counts of animal cruelty after the SPCA received an animal care complaint. These charges include five counts of permitting animals to be in distress, five counts of failing to provide necessary care for general welfare and one count of failing to kill an animal humanely. If convicted, Reckman could face a $60,000, fine up to two years in jail and a lifetime ban from owning pets. Read more
Just hours removed from the most demanding day in Rabbit Rescue Inc.’s nine-year history, Haviva Lush is running on empty.
But asked about the help received for her organization’s latest efforts and the Milton animal lover’s exhaustion quickly fades — replaced by a smile that speaks volumes about her appreciation for the ever-growing support for her work. Read more
Serena was an owner surrender to a shelter when she was 6 months old because she was considered to be grumpy and not friendly. Being in the shelter for another 6 months didn’t help Serena become any more friendly, even with the shelter staff making efforts to bring her out of her shell. The shelter was just not an ideal place for Serena. RR was called to spring her out in March of 2014. Serena went into foster care for a chance at a happier life. When Serena arrived into foster care, she was scared and her nose was out of joint for being moved to a new location. She grunted and lunged at any advance towards her or to get to know her, she even boxed her foster mom on the 2nd day. Her foster mom did not let that get in the way of getting to know her and was adamant on making Serena comfortable and able to trust again. Within 3 weeks of being in her foster home, Serena began to turn into a different bunny. She began to take treats from her foster moms’ hand and allow a few strokes on her head. She is living free range in her foster home and loves it, she has currently shown zero signs of being destructive. It is likely that she did not have much, if any time out of cage in her previous home which often leads to cage aggression.
Her favourite thing to do is bunny 500’s under the dining room table. Once she is tired out from that, she will flop out on the hall rug for a nap. Serena loves to keep a close eye on her foster mom, and watches her from her favourite spot in the hall. Serena also lives with a large bunny friendly dog and is not afraid of her nor does she show any aggressive behaviour towards the dog. Serena loves to explore and check out small spaces to see if she can fit! Serena definitely loves comfort and frequently hop’s up on the futon in her room for naps, which is lined with a fleece blanket. She enjoys being pet on her head and back now and will squish right down and tooth purr to show her enjoyment.
This lovely lady was FINALLY adopted into her forever home in September 2016 and we couldn’t be any happier!!
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
