In the heart of the Boise Bench, Ryan O’Leary’s yard boasts a dense, thriving bed of sunset-colored coneflowers. If you compliment him on the garden, he’ll credit his fiance and the new knee-high fence surrounding the flowerbed — which stands just tall enough to keep rabbits out.
O’Leary isn’t alone in his bunny beef. Other Bench residents, social media users and the Idaho Humane Society have said that the neighborhood is overrun with rabbits. Affectionately dubbed “Bench bunnies,” the domestic breed rabbits have been feral in the area for over 40 years, IHS spokesperson Kristine Schellhaas told the Idaho Statesman.
“People have been talking about the rabbit situation for some time, and I think we’re just hearing about it more because we’re connected on social media,” Schellhaas said. “At some point in time, (pet) rabbits were released, and it’s created this situation.”…