About the Bunnies

At New Leaf, once you get to a certain point, you’re put on this program where you take care of a rabbit. You have to complete this 4H test, and fill out a packet proving you know what to do and how to take care of the bunnies, but I don’t believe the school knows how to care for them in the first place.

The buns at New Leaf are kept in cruel and neglectful conditions that likely violate Oregon’s animal welfare laws. They are confined to tiny wire cages (12”W x 12”H x 18”L), with little to no solid flooring to protect their feet The most protection they get are 8" x 6" plastic mats. Twelve to fourteen rabbits are crammed into a small shed, stacked on and under shelves, with barely enough space for three preteens to stand inside. Many are never let out of their cages, as staff claim it is the students’ responsibility to take them out. In my case I had a spot restriction, third person restriction, and was restricted to one of the bunny officers (a student who's in charge of the bunny activities and cleaning days). Barn Alone is a privilege I asked for numerous times but was continuously rejected. That means it was on the staff to take out my bunny. I had a mini rex, and Rex's are already prone to sorehaux. My bunnies feet never recovered. When a bunny looses the fur on the bottom of their feet it never grows back. A picture will be attached at the end. It's not graphic, but it makes me angry when I look at it.

Back to what I was saying, their basic needs are not met. They are fed only once a day, given no fresh greens, and provided just a handful of hay, despite rabbits needing constant access to hay to survive. Their water comes from dribble bottles, which can malfunction or provide too little water. Their only source of stimulation is a plastic ball, leaving them with no exercise, socialization, mental enrichment, and no way to wear down their teeth (as they grow continuously).

Oregon law (ORS 167.325 & 167.330) defines animal neglect as failing to provide proper food, water, shelter, and care. The overcrowded, dirty, and boring (no mental stimulation) conditions these rabbits endure put them at serious risk of stress, illness, and suffering. This situation should be reported to local animal control, the Oregon Humane Society, or law enforcement so these animals can receive the care they deserve. This was back in 2017-2019, I'm not sure if Embark (the program that bought out NLA) still has the bunnies.

Once a week we'd take out their trays, empty them, scrub them, then put them back. but deep cleaning was different. We put every bunny in a pen outside and had two students in the pen to make sure they didn't fight. 14 un-spayed bunnies in a pen? That's just irresponsible.

The staff encouraged us to discipline our bunnies. If they nipped or humped each other, they told us to boop their noses, and not lightly. I did it lightly maybe twice before I realized even that was hurting them. Bunnies noses are sensitive, and the fact that they told us to physically discipline them instead of separate them shows how cruel they are.

During my time there, there were bunnies that just died. The staff couldn't figure out why, but I later did. In addition to all of the neglect, all of the rabbits are female, unspayed, and not given vaccines, putting them at risk for deadly reproductive cancers and preventable diseases. I only found out 4 years later when I wanted to get my bunny a friend. It wasn't until Bandit met Ray that she learned how to hop, flop, and roll. She didn't even know to chew on her toys until Raven did it infront of her.

What they do to the students may not be illegal, but this 100% is. Hell, the staff in charge of the bunnies knew nothing about them and gave me an LO when I asked a bunny officer to help me sex my rabbit. NLA made us participate in the 4H Dechutes county fair, so the people with bunnies needed to learn how to preform(?). Sexing a rabbit is something we needed to learn, so I got in trouble for doing what I was told (like most things you get in trouble for at NLA).