No bunny business: Roundup relocates rabbits to safety

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Austin Harvill
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  In an ever-changing climate of adversity, Team Aviano members keep their eyes peeled for hazards that may harm the community and mission.

Regardless of these Wyverns' vigilance, one hazard resides within the base's guarded walls.

Bunnies.

"Once or twice a year, we turn our attention to the flightline's resident wildlife population," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Corey Stewart, 31st Fighter Wing Safety office flight safety member. "Rabbits pose a safety concern since they reside right by the jets during take-off and landing."

To prevent any "hare"-y situations, the safety office team coordinated with base units and the local community to gather more than 300 volunteers. The volunteers stretched side-by-side across the approximately 1,000-feet-wide flightline to flush out the rabbits.

"The volunteers walk the length of the flightline, which spooks the rabbits," said Stewart. "Opposite of the volunteers is a net, where the rabbits harmlessly tangle themselves up."

Italian Corpo Forestale members, who are similar to game wardens or wildlife protectors, then untangle, tag and contain the rabbits for later release away from base.

"The rabbits are handled very gently, since they are scared," said Stewart. "Only the [Corpo Forestale personnel] relocate the rabbits; we simply corral them."

The volunteers' responsibility to corral the rabbits was not simply a matter of walking in an unbroken line. For some, that responsibility manifested itself suddenly.

"Sometimes the rabbits wouldn't spring away until they were a few feet from us," said Senior Airman Frank Cheney, 31st Fighter Wing Legal office adverse action paralegal. "They are really hard to see, so you would hear people yelp and see a rabbit dart toward the net."

Anticipating the excitement, the 31st Force Support Squadron Fitness Center and Chapel office staff filled the volunteers with free hot chocolate, tea and coffee before the event.

"I would definitely volunteer again because we were taken care of, and it is a pretty humorous task," said Cheney. "We captured rabbits to save them from jets. When I told my family about that, they thought I was speaking in code because it sounded so crazy. You definitely don't hear about that kind of stuff when you sign up to serve."

While Elmer Fudd himself may shed a proud tear for the volunteers, Stewart said Cheney and the other volunteers truly ensured mission success.

"Our vigilant volunteers corralled 26 rabbits at the end of the day" said Stewart. "With those critters relocated, we can safely use the flightline, continue to perform our mission and keep our furry neighbors out of harm's way."