Hoping for a Hoppy Ending : Animals: A band of proliferating bunnies in a Cypress park have city officials worried, but a spay-and-neuter program may be just what the veterinarian ordered.

When 20 rabbits were found abandoned in a city park last summer, officials reluctantly agreed to let them stay. Now, it seems, their worst fear has come true.

The 20 rabbits have multiplied to 80. So this week, the City Council again considered the dilemma and decided to explore the concept of bunny birth control.

At the urging of animal rights advocates, the council on Monday directed its staff to begin shopping for a veterinarian willing to spay and neuter the rabbits, either for free or at a discount.

“We will contact local vets to see what they might do to protect them, make sure they are healthy and safe, said City Manager Darrell Essex. “And, of course, we will ask what the cost would be for neutering. They really are very popular.”

The problem began six months ago when some residents complained that rabbits, Easter presents which had been abandoned at Nature Park on Ball Road near Denni Street, were wandering out and snacking on their yards. Trying to protect the nibbled flower beds, officials put out a trap, which was promptly stolen.

As news of the rabbits’ plight got out, residents came out in force to protect them from falling into the hands of county animal control officers. A petition bearing 700 signatures was presented to the council.

Despite its own staff’s recommendations to the contrary, the council allowed the rabbits to stay. The fence around the football field-size park was secured, and city workers were placed on alert to turn wandering bunnies back.

The rabbits not only survived, but proliferated. Now, according to a lengthy city report, traffic near the park has become treacherous as people stop to look at them. And the park has become a dumping ground for all kinds of animals, including a rooster which angered nearby residents with its punctual wake-up calls.

Juveniles have been arrested for trying to snatch the rabbits, the report says, and one little girl was bitten as she tried to feed them.

Some of the rabbits are still managing to get out, and some have become prey to a fox, according to the report.

Still, the council this week refused to have the bunnies trapped and killed.

“My suggestion is that when Easter approaches, we have an adopt-a-rabbit program with local schools,” Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age said this week. “We could really advertise it.”

But Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry, a staunch rabbit supporter, liked the idea of spaying and neutering all 80 of them.

“We have the rabbits. They are here, and people enjoy them,” she said.

Rabbit supporters also turned out to plead with the council for the critters’ lives.

“I think the problem here is that the rabbits are smarter then the people,” resident Ted Hill opined. “They want to waste money on everything else; I think they could throw a few dollars in for the rabbits.”

John Hardison, a local veterinarian since 1967, said the spaying and neutering operation is feasible and would cost $20 to $35 per animal. He said he even might be interested in performing the service. But someone else would have to catch them.

And therein lies the difficulty, he said.

“If you miss a couple of them, you are going to have the process keep going on.”

With an average gestation period of about 28 days, one or two missed rabbits could mean a whole new generation down the road.

And just giving them anesthesia can be risky.

“They can get so nervous that they jump and could break their backs,” Hardison said.