The remaining rabbits have been seized.
I'll admit, there was a fair few more than I thought. Nearly 200 rabbits in total is not something to shake a stick at, it is a serious investment of time and money, simply to keep them fed and clean. I do not judge, though. Simply because I couldn't care for 200 rabbits doesn't mean that it is wrong if someone else can. The number is really neither here nor there, as the owner has had all of the rabbits seized and there is now talk of bringing charges against her. I'm predicting they'll be announced before Valentine's Day.
This whole seizure, though... It's a serious load of manure. I mean, how long had this woman been keeping rabbits there? They weren't dying, they were able to be viewed by the public so obviously weren't starving to death or dying of dehydration. I'd ask what changed, but we all know... A journalist saw the area, wrote a "heartwarming story", and excited the masses. If this was done intentionally or not, I am not sure. I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she is well meaning but uneducated about rabbits. I mean, she continually calls them cottontails, which they are not!
As I see it, the wedge in the door was the impending storm. Frantic 911 calls were made, so the police HAD to do something(seriously, can someone please explain to me how these people were not charged with misusing 911 services?!). So they rounded up the rabbits that they could and took them to the vet, so they could be examined for any tiny trace of evidence of abuse, so the remaining animals can be seized, and the owner charged.
The article reports that the initially seized rabbits had syphilis and other diseases, which warranted the removal of all other rabbits. Let's start with syphilis and go from there.
Now, rabbit syphilis(often called vent disease), is a pretty straight forward issue, and something that is both easily treated and relatively common in breeding rabbits(I haven't dealt with it myself, but know others who have.) A round of antibiotics clears it right up, and then the rabbit is cured! Now, you're probably wondering why the owner didn't treat the animals if it's so easy to cure... Fair assumption. The problem with vent disease is that rabbits can go long periods of time without outbreaks, can carry it from birth without ever exhibiting symptoms. It is easily transmittable, and can be passed via intercourse, fighting or grooming. Generally a rabbit which displays symptoms will have lesions on their genitals, as well as on their face and occasionally forelegs. These lesions can occasionally be cleared up with a topical ointment if caught early on - this is a bad thing, as it allows the disease to remain, and still be passed on, while the owner believes the issue to be something else and resolved.
So, you say, how likely is it that the rabbits would show few to no symptoms at home, and just suddenly have an outbreak at the most opportune time... Well, pretty damn likely, considering the circumstances.
As prey animals, rabbits tend toward natural selection for strong immune systems and not showing symptoms of illness. A sick rabbit in the wild would be attacked and killed before it would be able to recover from the disease, while a rabbit that contracted the illness but did not display symptoms would be more likely to survive in the wild. That means rabbits have become excellent at hiding all symptoms or hiding themselves when ill. A rabbit can also carry an illness and have their immune system suppress it and prevent the rabbit from actually becoming ill.
But then you add on the stress of these rabbits being invaded by 20+ people, chased around and captured, crammed into cages and transported to a new environment, then examined and moved again and again, no longer afforded a large free area to run and play, and god knows what else is going on where they are... And something illness that's been present but unable to take hold finds a million cracks in the armor. Formerly healthy stress-free animals become ill overnight. Animals that could have lived long healthy lives are damaged mentally and physically and become unsuitable to be rehomed because those seizing are doing more harm than good in most cases.
Now, the "other diseases" they site? Ear mites and wounds from fighting. Not exactly diseases, when one is a parasite and the other is wounds. Obviously rabbits, when living in a large group, are going to have small scuffles. How bad were these injuries? Could the owner have been treating them... Should the owner have been treating them? Small wounds are often best left to heal on their own.
Ear mites are fairly common mites that affect most animals. They're easily remedied either through the administration of ivermectin(available over the counter as horse wormer), or the application of natural oil to the ear(which smothers the mites and loosens the scab). Ear mites are not something that is shocking or horrifying... Every pet owner will encounter it at some point. Obviously this is seen more frequently by breeders and rescuers than by pet owners, but this is merely because of the larger number of animals that breeders/rescuers encounter. Quite possibly these ear mites are minor infections that were contracted either due to stress, or due to the new environments/inadequate quarantine/accidental contamination. I do not believe that these rabbits could have had the type of infestation that would require immediate seizure to save the animals' life.
And that's the crux of it. These animals were not in immediate danger. These conditions are easily treated. Why was the owner not notified of the illnesses and told to treat her herd? When the police came out for the first seizure from this location, she was given several hours to get rabbits in out of the storm. Why was she not given an opportunity to treat these rabbits? If these rabbits have only easily treatable illnesses, and the rescues who have them are already begging for donations, why did they have to remove them instead of seizing them in place and requiring the owner to treat them?
To me, this seems like another Spraker's - people didn't like how the animals were kept,and continually harassed the local law enforcement, even after the situation was deemed not neglect, and acceptable. Eventually the powers that be will seize the animals simply to shut the hoard up. Unfortunately, it seems to be an effective strategy at this point, and we need to be doing something to combat this.
I also wonder if this is simply a "cash grab" for the rescues. The rabbits are located in NYC and rabbit sales in pet stores has been limited to rabbits from "rescues". I am sure that cute baby bunnies are in short supply, and many of these does are undoubtedly pregnant. No one can deny that baby bunnies are easier to sell than adults, and with all the attention this case has gotten, donations and applications will be flooding in.
Get ready, New York!! Your pet stores are about to be flooded by adorable baby bunnies!! But don't worry, the government has ensured a monopoly, so you don't have to worry about supporting an independent hobby breeder who's trying to improve their breed of choice, no, you'll end up with a mixed breed rabbit that will grow who knows how big and have been exposed to who knows what diseases...
Good luck!
More Reading
*please note some of these have graphic photos of worst infection scenarios!*
Vent Disease
http://www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-syphilis.html
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-health-feeding/vent-disease-syphilis-treatment/
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Syphilis.htm
Ear Mites
http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/rabbit-ear-mites.html
http://medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/earmite/Psoroptes.htm
http://www.petmd.com/rabbit/conditions/ears/c_rb_ear_mites