Sunday Morning Tragedy at Cal State

What are these?  These are blood drops on the ground at the Merced fairgrounds on Sunday morning, February 27, 2022. 

 

As we can see that Merced fairgrounds venue is an open barn.   There are two gates on the short sides but the two long sides do not have any closures.  Why are we talking about the structure of the venue and why show a photo of blood drops?

The Cal State Convention shows were spread into two days.  Saturday included one open show, one youth show and many specialty shows.  Sunday had two open and two youth shows.  Many kept their rabbits in the open barn overnight.   Between 3 am and 5 am, dog or dogs got into the barn and killed many rabbits; some reported over 30 some reported in the teens.  I don't have an exact number but the fact is that rabbit lives were lost between Saturday after the shows ended and before the shows started again on Sunday morning.   When I arrived on Sunday morning, I heard the horror but did not see any aftermath.  The only visible evidences were very upset people and blood drops on the ground.   

Normally our blog tries not to include any negative happenings.   I decided to report this case because it's a lesson learned.  No blame is put on the club, definitely no blame is put on the victims who suffered loses. We feel the deepest sympathy for those who lost their beloved rabbits.   Here we are offering some thoughts to help avoid future tragedies.

For the club,
(a) An open barn is a great venue for one-day shows, especially during the double pandemic of COVID and RHDV.  The abundance of air circulation alleviates the fear of contracting the horrible viruses. 
(b) If there is no other choices of a venue than an open barn, maybe the show days should be shortened to one day.
(c) If it has to be a two-day show, maybe one or more human should actually sleep inside the barn alongside the rabbits to be a true guardian.

For the exhibitors and rabbit lovers,
(a) Think hard about whether you wish to show both days.  Would one-day satisfy your desire for showing?
(b) If you wish to show both days, could you pack up and take the rabbits with you to the hotel or to go home if your home is not too far away?
(c) If you wish to show both days but cannot take the rabbits home or to the hotel, could you use a table or cage stands to elevate the carriers with rabbits inside?  Could you cover up the rabbit carriers with a sheet and weigh the sheet down? This is analogous to installing locks and video monitors at your home, the elevation of the carriers and usage of cover sheets provide a barrier to a dog/animal attack.  Though these methods do not guarantee a total protection of the rabbits, they make the attack more difficult.   

The above are some thoughts and suggestions, definitely it's not placing blame on either the club or those who lost rabbits.   If you wonder whether the wool breed exhibitors suffer any loss, we are very fortunate that all our wool babies are safe.   Casey, Pattee and Carolyn only showed on Saturday, they took all their animals home when the Saturday shows were done.   Carol and I (Betty) both took our rabbits home after the show on Saturday then returned on Sunday with our rabbits.   We had our equipment in the showroom on the stands, there was no sign of any disturbance.