San Diego, September 30, 2018 – The Spay-Neuter Action Project of San Diego, today announced that the inaugural rabbit clinic will take place on Sunday, October 7, at the San Diego House Rabbit Society, located at 4807-A Mercury Street, San Diego, 92111.
SNAP, a registered non-profit since 1996, is recognized as the first organization in San Diego county, to implement programs to reduce the number of companion animals destroyed annually in the shelter system. They published the very first referral guide of affordable spay/neuter providers in the region, to address pet overpopulation at its source. SNAP became an affordable spay/neuter provider in 2003, to bring services directly into lower-income communities, where the highest number of abandoned, stray or relinquished cats and dogs enter our shelters. An average of 500 procedures are performed each month onboard the Neuter Scooter surgical bus, by a fully trained and California State licensed veterinary team specializing in high-volume procedures. Over 60,000 combined cats and dogs have been altered to date.
Domestic rabbit overpopulation in San Diego is a real problem. Many are dumped by uncaring people or euthanized in shelters because there are just too many of them. Rabbits have a shorter gestation period and can reconceive shortly after birth. One un-spayed female rabbit and her unaltered female offspring can produce another 1,300 babies in just one year. In five years, that number could exponentially reach 94 million. The San Diego House Rabbit Society (SDHRS), the only rabbit rescue and rehome organization in the county, advocates for spaying and neutering to control the numbers, provides referrals to low-cost spay/neuter rabbit vets, and offers education for proper care specific to these companion animals. Their primary consideration is the welfare of all rabbits.
Rabbit sterilization procedures require specialized training and surgical instruments. A long-time SNAP DVM was recently trained and licensed to fix rabbits, so rabbit clinics have been added to the schedule. SNAP and the SDHRS each have a specific role. All clinics will run the same, with procedures performed by SNAP inside the surgical bus then patients will be transferred into the SDHRS facility for recovery. SDHRS volunteers with the necessary know-how, will monitor the rabbits during recovery to ensure their safety. “We are very excited to partner with the San Diego House Rabbit Society to reduce the number of rabbits born unnecessarily, while providing a new resource for lower-income rabbit owners. Because we now have the expertise on staff, we can offer more rabbit clinics during the year instead of the one held annually,” said Dorell Sackett, SNAP Executive Director.
For more information on SNAP, please visit www.snap-sandiego.org or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or use #SNAPsandiego. For more information on the San Diego House Rabbit Society, a chapter of the international House Rabbit Society, please visit www.sandiegorabbits.org.