Regina's rabbit population control program suspended

The rabbit population control program in Regina has been suspended.

Regina hadrabbit traps out in areas where the rabbit population wasdeemedproblematic. In some cases, they tookrabbits to "a remote location" and destroyed them, the city said.

On Thursday morning, a city spokesperson confirmed that the traps placed in Harbour Landing had been removed.

The statement reads: "This is to advise that the two-week pilot project has been suspended because traps are being tampered with."

The city would not confirmif the suspension is temporary or permanent.

Culls not the way to go: wildlife biologist

A Saskatoon wildlife biologistsaysRegina's strategy to reduce its rabbit population could backfire.

"As soon as you stop removing them, what happens [is] you've now produced a condition that's very good for the animal and they have higher birth rates and higher survival rates," John Polson,a wildlifebiologist in Saskatoon, said.

Polsonuses a catch-and-release method in Saskatoon and said culls usually don't work.

"The population sometimes actually increases and is higher than when you started."

The city began its rabbit control program, catching 27 animals. It released 10and destroyed the other 17.

Russell Eirich, the City of Regina's manager of forestry, pest control and horticulture, said Tuesday that they haven't caught any this year but thatit would be difficult to simply catch and release the rabbits in neighbouring rural municipalities.

"I don't think it's responsible to offload our problem onto them," he said.

Regina said itprotects the trees by wrapping them. Polsonsaid that is a good strategy.

"It just makes so much more sense to protect the tree because there's other animals too that will nip at the trees," he said.

Polsonalso said that an increase in rabbit populationwouldn't draw more predators to the city.