Some call it a war, others a capture operation or an exile effort. In any case, an excess of wild rabbits in Paris has convinced the authorities to lose them.
The ‘fluffy war’ is fought on two battlefronts: the first, against the animals, which are causing serious problems with hundred of tunnels dug underground, their insatiable appetite and subsequent droppings.
The second, on the human front as the manner of eliminating the problem (which began a while ago) has triggered conflict between local officials and activists from Paris Animaux Zoopolis (PAZ) , the association that defends animal causes in Paris.
During the first skirmish in the ‘Rabbit War’ five years ago, PAZ “took the plight of the rabbits to court, and has continued to do so systematically each time the army has approached Parisian authorities for their help and authorization in evicting the intruders,” as explained by The Guardian.
In 2021, authorities formally classified the Parisian rabbits as “pests” but were forced to retract the designation following an outcry from animal groups arguing for a policy of peaceful cohabitation with the animals.
By removing the rabbits’ status as ‘damage-causing species (espèce susceptible d’occasionner des dégâts), they were repositioned in ‘group three’ along with pigeons and wild boar.
Nuisance or tourist attraction?
The conflict zone is clearly marked: Some 300 ‘lapins de Garenne’, a type of European rabbit, have been multiplying around the 40-acre, manicured emerald lawns of the Esplanade des Invalides, a site classified as an Historic Monument that houses the Army Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb, under which the rabbits have found particularly desirable real estate.
And so, as the bunnies extended their underground network and peacefully frolicked on the green “pelouse” to the delight of tourists who, as described by Le Parisien, on sunny days love to capture the scene “by lying down in the grass to take a selfie with the pair of ears sticking out,” the French military of Operation Sentinel charged with overseeing the historic area and monument, have been much less amused — not least as they collect tons of bunny droppings every day.
And that’s not all. The animals are ruining the lawns and flora, their tunnels are extensive and they gnaw on the electrical cables and the pipes that water the premises.
Costly restoration and relocation
According to the police, the bunnies overpopulation has led to degraded living conditions and health risks with “the mortality of rabbits and the bait they constitute for rats.” Per their calculations, restoring the site damaged by “the multiplication of underground galleries and the deterioration of the gardens, pipes, flora” will cost upwards of €400,000 .
Given the condition of the lawn above and the labyrinth below, and the growing cost of repairing and maintaining them, the pressure from the army and the upcoming Olympic Games when the City of Lights must look its best, local officials decided to launch a campaign to relocate the furry animals to the Bréau area in the Seine-et-Marne region, around 70 kilometers southeast of Paris.
The police have explained that the capture operation which started last month, is taking place in several stages and “in conditions favorable to the well-being of the specimens collected.”
Stressed bunnies and hunting dangers
The question now is why the municipality of Bréau has agreed to take the exiled rabbits with multiple theories making the rounds. Some media have suggested that Bréau residents would share in their care. Others predict less positive outcomes: A PAZ representative told Le Parisien that the estate where the captured rabbits are being released belongs to the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation and is open to hunting.
The police department running the rabbit transfer has said that the animals would not be hunted, but PAX is still not satisfied, and suspects that “hunters will probably have a go at them at some point.”
The animal rights group added that the rabbits are being subjected to “intense stress” during capture and before their release, and predicted that a number of them could die during transport from fear-induced cardiac arrest. They have warned that if the “deportation” campaign continues through March, they’ll proceed with fresh legal action.
Nevertheless, history offers some consolation: Despite all efforts, the Invalides rabbits won’t disappear. This particular colony has been there for more than a century, resisting numerous and periodic campaigns to banish them. Rabbits reproduce…well, like rabbits. Even just a few eluding capture can produce a big family in no time.