Since February 20th, more than 30 abandoned rabbits have been found in Zushi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and when NHK visited the area, one new rabbit was found.

Police suspect that someone may have thrown it away and are investigating, including analyzing security cameras in the area.

According to the police, rabbits have been found one after another in bushes near a residential area in Numama, Zushi City since February 20th.



As of the 29th, more than 30 rabbits have been found, either by police officers who have reported them, or by ordinary people who have found them and brought them to police stations.



When NHK was reporting in the area, they found a brown rabbit eating grass on the side of the road on the afternoon of the 29th, and contacted the police and the Kanagawa Prefecture Animal Welfare Center.



According to research so far, they have been found one after another in similar locations, so it is possible that someone threw them away.



Police are conducting an investigation into possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including analyzing security camera footage.

The history of the rabbits found one after another

In February, more than 30 rabbits were found one after another in Zushi City, Kanagawa Prefecture.



Where did it come from?



[February 20th, first 12 animals]


The site where they were first found was a bush at the end of a residential area near the Zushi Interchange on Yokohama Yokosuka Road.



According to the police, at around 3:40 pm on February 20th, a man who was walking his dog reported that a rabbit was on the road.



The man who made the call rescued the 12 animals and took them back to his home, where they were placed in a cardboard box and handed over to the police who rushed to the scene.



[Witness on the 23rd]


Three days later, on the 23rd, a man who manages a survival game facility near the site of the initial discovery saw the rabbit.



When the man followed the two animals that were on the road near the facility's grounds into the bushes, he found more than 10 animals.



[Since then, more and more discoveries have been made]


On the 24th, a call was made to 110 saying there were ``more than 10 animals,'' and police officers who rushed to the scene rescued 13 animals that were actively moving around in the bushes.



In addition, three rabbits were found in the bushes on the 25th, and six rabbits were found on the 27th, bringing the total number of rabbits found one after another to more than 30 since the first report was received on February 20. It means going up.



It is currently being protected at an animal welfare center in Kanagawa Prefecture.



[It's unclear where they came from]


According to the police, the rabbits were brown or white in color and had the same size and appearance, so the police suspect that the rabbits were kept somewhere, then someone brought them to the scene and threw them away. However, the owner has not been identified so far.



They are docile and tend to hide when they see humans, and according to the police, there have been no reports of residents being bitten or injured so far.

What was the situation at the time for the first 12 animals?

The wife of the man who rescued the first 12 rabbits found was interviewed by NHK and clarified the situation at the time.



According to the man's wife, she was walking her dog when she saw crows gathered on the guardrail and became suspicious.



When the man looked closely, he saw several rabbits huddled together under the guardrail, and one of them had an eye injury from being attacked by a crow.



After taking the rabbit home to protect it, the man put 11 nearby rabbits inside his jumper and took them home.



The man's wife then contacted the police and handed over the 12 rabbits in cardboard boxes to the police who rushed to the scene.The man's wife said, ``They were small and docile and very cute.I would have felt sorry for them if they had been left alone.'' I was there.

Veterinarian: “It is most likely a domesticated adult rabbit.”

Kumiko Saito, a veterinarian in Saitama City who is an expert on rabbits, said, ``The rabbits that were found appear to be of the European rabbit species, and while they live in the wild in some European countries, they do not exist in the natural environment in Japan.'' I am.



He added that there was a high possibility that the rabbits were relatively young adult rabbits that had been kept in captivity, and added, ``There have been cases where rabbits have been abandoned like dogs and cats, but I have never heard of rabbits being abandoned in such large numbers.'' I kept them because they were cute, but without spaying or neutering, they kept breeding and became inbreeding, which may have caused the breeding to collapse, but as far as I can see from the images, they are not thin and are in a poor environment. I don't think he was there.''



Also, ``In Japan's natural environment, they cannot survive because they will be eaten by carnivorous wild animals such as raccoons and foxes.They are nervous and fearful animals, so I am very worried that there may be some rabbits that cannot be caught.'' ” he says.