The Battle for Columbus Has Begun! [link]

This time, it's WAR! And it is a war we must WIN!

Soft, cute, cuddly ... and dang annoying
Ohio gardens fall prey to voracious rabbits
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Barbara Carmen
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

They are everwhere! I go for a walk every day and I see dozens of them.

This summer, central Ohio and much of the Midwest has a bumper crop of bunnies, biologists said.

Fewer froze during the moderate winter. And suburban sprawl has been kind, creating lush gardens and destroying the habitats of natural predators.

As a result, the cottontails are multiplying like, well, rabbits. The Dempseys see them everywhere, crossing busy urban streets and snacking on suburban flower beds.

Oh, laugh if you must. But I tell you, these creatures are more vile and evil than the orcs from Lord of the Rings! You don't have to take my word for it:

"These are tough urban bunnies. Trust me, they’re fearless," Mr. Dempsey said.

The rabbits are brazen, agreed Jane Beathard, of London, whose porch boxes were raided. "A couple mornings ago, one hopped within 3 or 4 feet of me. He clearly wasn’t even scared."

And this is a problem that is only going to get WORSE!

But central Ohio’s human population boom is feeding the boom in rabbits. As farm fields are turned into housing lots, rabbits gain shrubs with nooks for nesting. A single field of corn or wheat is replaced with gardens of petunias, hostas and impatiens — a veritable rabbit salad bar.

Urban areas offer another perk for bunnies: fewer animals to eat them. Red-tailed hawks, great horned owls and coyotes tend to shy away from human bustle.

Without predators to hunt them, a pair of rabbits could produce 350,000 offspring in five years if all survived.

In the city, rabbit control is best left to house cats. State law forbids killing rabbits until their hunting season begins on Nov. 3, but then you can’t shoot a gun in the city. County wildlife officers can issue permits for people to trap and relocate rabbits.

Huh? "....best left to house cats." Who are these fools kidding? That is like saying that controlling Hamas is best left to Hezbollah! What good are cats? They lay around all day, do no work, and leave cat hair everywhere. House cats don't know how to hunt! Why should they ever learn...they have the Democrat constituent thing down perfect! Be totally helpless and some poor fool will take care of you...give you a house to live in and food to eat and you don't have to do a thing!

Here is the face of the enemy! Cruel! Heartless! Hungry! Look into those ravenous eyes and you will truly know ultimate fear!

"This isn’t just in Columbus, it’s over a large area," said Gehrt, who is researching coyotes moving into Chicago neighborhoods. "One homeowner told me they wanted more coyotes in the neighborhoods," Gehrt said. "They eat the rabbits."

Be afraid. Be very afraid.