The traps were out at the University of Victoria Monday afternoon within hours of B.C. Supreme Court's setting aside of an injunction prohibiting UVic from trapping or killing feral rabbits hopping around campus.

However, resumption of trapping does not mean that rabbits are going to die.

"We anticipate that there will be enough capacity in various sanctuaries to handle all the rabbits we intend to trap in August and September," said Tom Smith, the university's executive director of facilities management.

The injunction, obtained July 30 by rabbit activist Roslyn Cassells, undermined UVic's plans to trap many of the approximately 1,500 rabbits living on campus before students return next month.

Initially, UVic planned to hand over some rabbits to the few provincially licensed sanctuaries and euthanize others, leaving a population of only about 200 on campus.

However, the injunction delay has allowed community groups to get licences approved for three sites in B.C. and one in Texas, making it unlikely any rabbits will have to be killed.

The B.C. sites are in Coombs, Cowichan Station and Saltspring Island.

Cassells said she is pleased the legal proceedings gave the sanctuaries time to get organized. But she said she fears the university might capture more animals than the sanctuaries can take at one time, and use lack of capacity as an excuse for killing rabbits.

"Given their behaviour in the past, I think that is possible," she said.

The bottleneck in bunny captures will be the number that can be held in sanctuaries awaiting spay/neuter operations.

However, university spokeswoman Patty Pitts said trapping will be geared to the ability of sanctuaries to take the rabbits.

The aim is to trap 400 to 500 rabbits during September, primarily near the student residences, she said.

Trapping will be suspended during student orientation and may resume shortly afterward, provided the increased activity does not keep rabbits out of the traps, Smith said.

"If trapping continues to be productive and, if sanctuaries continue to have the capacity to receive rabbits, we will extend trapping beyond the students' return," he said.

"Otherwise, we will not resume trapping until later in the fall."

Susan Vickery, founder of Earthanimal Humane Education and Rescue Society (EARS) and Common Ground, a wildlife damage control company, will take the first batch of rabbits Tuesday.

They will be spayed and neutered with the help of a $50,000 donation from the Fur-Bearer Defenders.

"We are getting the vets set up. I am ready, willing and able — and we have the capacity," Vickery said.

Some may then go to Cowichan and some to Coombs.

"We just want them to be safe and happy," Vickery said.

"It looks as if we can get them all into sanctuaries."

All rabbits taken by Vickery will also be tattooed for easy identification.

Laura-Leah Shaw, who arranged for a Texas sanctuary to take up to 1,000 rabbits, has a tougher job as she tries to organize transport across the U.S. border and satisfy a provincial requirement that all rabbits be sterilized before they leave the country.

"The biggest challenge are the bunnies who are too young to be spayed or neutered. The Texas vets say they will do it when they mature, but the ministry won't go for that," Shaw said.

Shaw is raising money for the rabbits' trip to Texas through The Responsible Animal Care Society.

For UVic, once the rabbit relocation is underway, the challenge will be stopping anyone else from dumping unwanted pets on campus.

"UVic supports efforts by the BCSPCA to convince districts and municipalities to introduce bylaws prohibiting the sale of unsterilized pet rabbits," says a UVic news release.

jlavoie@tc.canwest.com