Harley died after ingesting poison left for the bunnies.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Anyone who has experienced a pet passing over Rainbow Bridge knows how devastating that can be. When a pet is sick for a long time, it is expected, but knowing your beloved pet met her demise in a matter of hours is almost too painful to bear.
Harley, a perfectly healthy Coton de Tulear, said goodbye to her pet parent, Kate Carter, 19, a lifelong resident of Margate, and a few hours later she was gone.
“I left to go to New York for the night and on the drive home the next day, my mom said Harley was acting weird and was tired. I called back at 5 p.m. and had to take her to the emergency vet after she began vomiting blood. Two hours later, she was gone,” Carter said.
Her family vet said the illness could have been a rare autoimmune disease or Lyme’s from a tick bite. But after bloodwork showed Harley had no platelets in her blood along with internal bleeding, the doctor said Harley most likely died after ingesting rat poison or some other rodent bait.
The city is one of three Downbeach towns suffering from a proliferation of rabbits, and residents may be putting out poison to get rid of them.
“I don’t think it was intentional, but people need to understand the bunny problem. People can’t be more worried about their garden than they are about wildlife,” Carter said.
In addition to Harley, Carter said there were six dead bunnies found in her neighborhood over a two-day period.
“The city said there is nothing they can do about it, but I don’t want to see this happen to anyone else. I’m sharing my story with the hopes that it will educate the public about using safer repellents,” such as peppermint spray or fox urine.
Carter and her brother distributed flyers in the neighborhood to warn pet owners about the potential for tragedy and asking them to use a more humane treatment.
“We can’t bring Harley back, we just want to protect wildlife too,” she said.
Veterinarian Mark Newkirk said the bunny problem is a difficult one to control mainly because there are no natural predators in the area, such as foxes, raccoons, coyotes and feral cats.
“There are some foxes in the marshes in certain areas, but not on Ventnor Avenue,” he said. “There is no real solution, which is why people resort to poisons.”
There are some businesses that trap and relocate the bunnies, but people often just put down rat poison, which is readily accessible at the hardware store.
“Now, domestic animals get into it depending on where the bait is put out,” he said.
Sometimes poisoning can be treated with vitamin K or transfusions, but the amount of poison ingested, and the size of the dog may make it impossible to treat.
“Dogs like to sniff and eat, and some baits are flavored and will attract dogs,” he said.
Newkirk advised dog owners to keep their pets on a short leash, and don’t use a retractable leash where the dog can walk several feet away from its handler.
“You have to stay close so you can see what the dog is sniffing at,” he said.
Sustainable Margate Chairman Steve Jasiecki said he is opposed to using any kind of poison to get rid of the rabbits.
“Not only for the animals, but also for what it does when it leaches into the bay and ocean,” he said. “We even discourage the use of glyphosate-based herbicides because it kills bees, is harmful to wildlife, and is a known carcinogen for humans.”
Jasiecki said there was a time when rabbits, squirrels and foxes lived in the marshes, but with all the houses being built, it takes away their habitat, he said.
Another resident, who rescues injured animals on Absecon Island, learned about Harley’s demise and started a petition on change.org. After one day, there were more than 650 people who signed the petition.
Her goal was to obtain 1,000 signatures, but she may leave it up after reaching her goal, she said.
Although she is not sure what will come of the petition, she really just wants to create awareness about the problem in the beach town, “so people think twice about putting out poisons,” she said.
She is concerned for her own dog, she said.
“The rabbits ingest the poison somewhere else and then poop in your yard, and your dog goes out and steps in it and now the poison is on their paws. People have to be careful their own dog doesn’t get poisoned,” she said. “There have been a lot of bunnies and other wildlife turning up dead on people’s lawns and it has become a way bigger problem than we ever expected.”
She recommended any property owner looking to stop the bunnies from eating their flowers contact a professional exterminator, who has access to other products that may not be as harmful to animals.
“It’s a problem, but people shouldn’t be taking it into their own hands to solve,” she said.
As an animal advocate she would like to educate the public about the dangers of using poisons and encourage them to use safer repellents.
“If you have a beating heart, you have no right to take the life of a little animal,” she said.
Wishing to be identified only as Celeste, she said she hopes to have a meeting with city officials about the problem.
Carter said she contacted the local police and Code Enforcement, but there are no ordinances on the books banning the use of harmful chemicals to kill rabbits.
The rabbit problem is not new in the Downbeach area.
In 2016, Longport attempted to capture and release rabbits in a suitable location offshore and according to NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife regulations, but calls from residents and children convinced the borough to leave the rabbits alone.
At that time, an animal control officer said the proliferation of rabbits was a result of an ample food supply being offered by homeowners with manicured lawns and lovely gardens.
“I have gotten more calls about the rabbits than anything else,” Mayor Nicholas Russo said.
Rabbits live a fairly short life, between 12 and 15 months, and can have two or three litters of bunnies during that time. Gestation period is only 28 days, and they reproduce mostly in spring. Baby bunnies are ready to leave their shallow nests in two to three weeks when they are hungry and ready to proliferate.
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