Editor,

There was information gleaned at the South Whidbey School District board meeting on Aug. 26 that adds emphasis to the ongoing discussion of Langley’s rabbit invasion. In addition to the digging of holes, the chewing of plants, and the inundating deposits of their feces, these rabbits also are hosts to fly eggs that can be transmitted to pets allowing larva to enter the pets’ bodies. One participant from the public related her dog’s infection and a subsequent $90 vet bill to remove the larva.

A port representative added that a horse had been infected at the fairgrounds and the cost of cure was $5,000. She also reported that the rabbits’ digging had seriously undermined the foundation of some fairground buildings. These things as well as the excessive digging up of the school athletic fields go far beyond “nuisance” behavior. It’s time we recognized we have a serious problem that needs a unified approach to solving it.

In The Record’s article of August 29th it was suggested, among other suggestions, that natural predators would most likely solve the problem. If this were so, it seems the population would not have ballooned so excessively in the last three or four years. These “cute little bunnies” are destructive in many ways. I agree with the editorial in the aforementioned Record, “They’re not that cute.”

SYLVIA HOLLIS

Langley