Hare we go again: The Gowanus rabbits are back

Last December, the world met the Gowanus rabbits, adorable bunnies being kept in a dirt lot on 3rd Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets. By January, the tale was a lot less cute, as police and workers from the ASPCA rescued the rabbits after a blizzard and found the adorable bunnies had adorable rabbit syphilis due to a whole lot of unprotected rabbit sex. So the rabbits were seized from their owner Dorota Trec and that was the end of that. Except now the same lot has adorable bunnies in it, again. Syphilis status: unknown.

The rabbits appear to be back now, or some of them are, anyway. At least five of the furballs could be seen this weekend, in the same Gowanus lot where they once hopped and frolicked with dozens more of their bunny brethren. At the very least, the lot, which was previously just dirt, is now covered in grass and free of debris and serves as a nicer backdrop for the rabbits’ homecoming.

That being said, not everyone in the neighborhood is welcoming the return of the Gowanus rabbits. An employee of Mexico Tire Shop, which is next door to the lot, speculated that the rabbits are the same ones taken by officials. He also estimated that they have been back about a month and said, “she’s not supposed to” own rabbits, referring to rabbit owner Dorota Trec. “The city said no more rabbits.”

When reached for comment, the ASPCA’s Natasha Whitling shared this statement from the animal welfare group:

“The ASPCA remains committed to ensuring that all of the rabbits seized in early 2015 receive the care they need and deserve for as long as necessary. This is an ongoing criminal case and we cannot comment further at this time.”

Sign up for our newsletter to get weird Brooklyn animal news dropped directly in your inbox

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail