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Where to get help for baby rabbits

Wildlife Rehabilitation

Baby rabbits should receive care from a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Wildlife rehabilitators are trained to provide care for wild animals. They are licensed to do so by provincial and/or federal governments.

Baby rabbits need specialized formula, species-specific housing, and medical treatment that you cannot provide at home. A permit is required to keep wild animals in your care for more than 24 hours. Please contact a wildlife rehabilitator right away for help with the baby rabbit you have found.

CAUTION: Baby rabbits, even more than other wild animals, are EXTREMELY high-stress. This makes it even more important to keep them dark and quiet, and not to give them food or water.  DON’T PET THEM, DON’T FEED THEM, and keep people and pets away while you figure out how to get them help. 

Help for baby rabbits in the GTA

If you have found a baby rabbit in the GTA, please fill out our online Request for Assistance Form and a Hotline staff member will respond via a call back or an email as soon as possible. Please check your email inbox and junk folder regularly. Our hours are 9am-6pm, seven days a week (yes, even on holidays!).

If the baby you have found is not a rabbit , please go back to our species selection page. 

Help for baby rabbits outside the GTA

Due to the extremely high volume of requests for assistance about orphaned baby rabbits, we can’t admit babies from other municipalities.

Please see the OMNRF list of authorized wildlife rehabilitators and/or the map on our website for more information.

If you cannot reach a wildlife rehabilitator right away

Keep trying. Wildlife rehabilitators are very busy, especially during the spring and summer. If you get an answering machine, leave a message and make it easy for them to reach you. Call around to others in the area. Be willing to arrange transportation for the animal once a rehabilitator is found. Remember that there is no government funding for wildlife rehabilitation in Ontario, and all rehabilitators are funded entirely by private donations.

You cannot keep the baby rabbit or provide care yourself – they need specialized care that you don’t have the means to provide. Keep them in a cardboard box in a dark, quiet, place. Make sure they have a heat source, like a hot water bottle.  Don’t give them any food or water until you’ve spoken to a wildlife rehabilitator. Further temporary care instructions can be found here.

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