Last Of Gowanus Hoarder's Bunnies Believed To Be Rescued From Longtime Lair

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — Volunteers and animal care workers believe that most or maybe all of the bunnies left behind by hoarder Dorota Trec — who was sentenced Friday to 45 days in jail for animal cruelty — have been removed from the Gowanus property where she had kept them in rancid conditions.

Two workers from Animal Care Centers of NYC and three local volunteers were out at the property, behind Gowanus' Mexico Tire on the corner of Third Avenue and Ninth Street, searching on a soggy Wednesday morning for what they believe is one final bunny.

It's difficult, though, to get an exact count of how many of the bunnies are left, because they have burrowed underground, where they spend most of their day.

Tiffanie Fisher is a concerned bunny-owner who has followed Trec's case since she was arrested in early 2015. After Trec's sentencing on Friday, which Fisher attended, she stopped by the lot Saturday with hay and food for what she thought would be two or three bunnies left on the property.

"We came, and when we got here and came in, there were 15 rabbits right in front of us," Fisher told Patch. "We came thinking it was two or three, we ended up counting around 20 or so."

Several were sick or injured, Fisher said. One large black and white spotted bunny was sitting in the only clean corner of a locked hutch; it was unclear how long it had been trapped inside with no food.

Fisher has been coming back to the spot every day with more bunny food and working alongside two other volunteers and officials with Animal Care Centers of NYC, a non-profit animal rescue group in the city.

They're trying to rescue the rabbits before they start multiplying again.

"We're all rabbit owners and have been really concerned," she said of the volunteers. "Rabbit hoarding is different than other animals because they breed so quickly. One rabbit can produce a ridiculous number of rabbits very quickly."

Katy Hansen, a spokeswoman for Animal Care Centers, told Patch that they have over 100 rabbits in their care right now between their Manhattan and Brooklyn locations, most coming from Trec's heard. In 2015, the organization rescued more than 200 rabbits from her, which led to Trec's arrest.

They're running a special adoption promotion right now for $20 to ease the burden.

Anyone interested in adoption can check out ACC's website here or download their adoption app here.

Photo by @BrooklynBean, Instagram, used courtesy of ACC