LINCOLN SQUARE — Three mutilated wild bunnies were rescued Monday night in Lincoln Square, as more than a dozen neighbors joined with a team from Red Door Animal Shelter to locate and trap the rabbits.
"All 3 that we know of have been caught!!!," neighbor Marian Nixon posted to Facebook. "They are on their way to get unmutilated!!"
Sightings of the bunnies, their ears pierced with objects including key fobs, began in May and drew outrage from neighbors. Conservation police with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources opened an investigation into the apparent cruelty to the animals.
Red Door put out the call via social media for volunteers to meet up Monday, having obtained permits to trap the wildlife and permission to gain access to people's yards.
Two of the bunnies were easily captured but it took an hour to locate the third, according to accounts shared online.
Volunteers wore gloves when handling the bunnies in order to preserve any evidence on the piercings, with law enforcement expected to oversee the objects' removal, neighbors said.
The bunnies are headed to Flint Creek Wildlife, which specializes in the rehabilitation of injured animals before returning them to their natural habitat. Red Door and the conservation police were not immediately available for comment.