Saskatchewan

City of Regina says it has no plans to restart rabbit control program

The City of Regina has confirmed that it has no plans to restart a pilot project that saw it trap and kill rabbits, after earlier announcing it was suspending the controversial program.

Rabbit cull was met with questions, concerns about effectiveness

The City of Regina has seen an exploding rabbit population and implemented a rabbit control program earlier this year. It has since been suspended. (Bryan Eneas/CBC News)

The City of Regina has confirmed it has no plans at this time to restart a pilot project that saw it trap and kill rabbits, after earlier announcing it was suspending the controversial program. 

The growing rabbit population this winter has caused problems for city property such as trees, particularly in newer areas of the city like Harbour Landing, the city previously said.

Last year, the city began its rabbit control program, catching 27 animals. It released 10 and killed the other 17.

It reinstated the program this year but earlier this month, news of the rabbit control program was met with opposition. Some questioned how effective the program was in controlling the rabbit population.

Two days after the city's manager met with reporters to answer questions about the program, the city announced it was being suspended.

A brief statement from the city simply said, "This is to advise that the two-week pilot project has been suspended because traps are being tampered with."