A neighbor’s complaint is putting a 26-year-old rabbit rescue in Augusta County at risk of closing because of compost containing bunny waste.
Mary Ellen Whitehouse founded Bunny Lu Adoptions Inc. in Manassas in 1999 although she always expected her life’s mission would be a cat rescue.
“At some point in my life there, I discovered that I was born in the year of the rabbit,” Whitehouse said.
Eight years ago, she and the rescue moved to Augusta County, near Waynesboro city limits, and is only one of four rabbit rescues in Virginia. She has filed an appeal against the complaint.
“We are an asset to the county and the state in general, because we are saving lives,” Whitehouse said.
A nonprofit organization, Bunny Lu does not cost the state any funding. All staff, including Whitehouse, are volunteers.
“You do this, because you love it. You’re trying to help,” Whitehouse said.
Bunny Lu adopts out approximately 150 rabbits per year to loving homes.
“And I’m not a big organization,” she said.
A sanctuary in Galax provides a permanent home for rabbits, while Whitehouse cares for up to 30 rabbits in her basement and fosters out approximately 50 rabbits across Virginia and in one Maryland home.
“They are the third most popular pet in the country,” Whitehouse said of rabbits, after dogs and cats.
Yet, county shelters, according to Whitehouse, are not equipped to care for rabbits and are busy caring for cats and dogs. She said that rabbits make wonderful pets, but education of their needs, which is different than dogs and cats, is important for a home to successfully adopt a rabbit.
Whitehouse said she once received a call from a woman who was moving from North Carolina to Staunton and three rabbits were found abandoned in a pen behind the Staunton house she was purchasing. Whitehouse took the three rabbits into her rescue for adoption.
“This happens nonstop.”
County shelters often call her. Most recently, Henrico County requested assistance and a year ago Fairfax County requested aid.
Interested adopters of rabbits are invited to submit an application online for qualification and screening before they visit the rescue and see any of the rabbits.
“We are trying to make sure these guys get into forever homes,” Whitehouse said of her rescue organization. In the adoption contract, rabbit adopters are instructed to return the rabbit to Bunny Lu if circumstances change.
April is a busy time for a bunny rescues because parents buy baby bunnies for children at Easter.
“They need to be part of a family rather than stuck in a cage,” Whitehouse said of bunny adoptions. A 4-foot x 6-foot pen is also suitable to keep a bunny in a loving home.
A few weeks ago, however, the neighbor behind the rescue complained to Augusta County Board of Zoning Appeals about compost waste from the rabbits. Augusta County told Whitehouse that she is in violation of county ordinances that prohibit animal waste composting and in violation of operating a business. Bunny Lu is a nonprofit, not a business. The health department informed Whitehouse that rabbit waste is a health hazard.
“It’s the best fertilizer you can ask for. You can put it right on your plants,” Whitehouse said.
She obtained 5,000 signatures in a petition presented to the BZA and will next appear in front of the board on April 3.
“I’m of the opinion at this point that when a complaint comes into that office, they are going to hound you until you leave the county,” Whitehouse said.
Whitehouse said she needs community support and individuals to show up at 1 p.m. on April 3 to express support for Bunny Lu.
She expects she will receive a decision from the BZA the same day.
“If I cannot have the rescue here, I will probably never, ever drive through this county again,” Whitehouse said. She added that if the appeal fails, she will probably sell her house and move, and the rescue will probably have to close.
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Rebecca Barnabi
