Schrader lives among her rabbits in her small manufactured home located on a dirt road bordering one of Seminole County’s last remaining tracts of wilderness, most acquired as castoffs from homes that could no longer care for them. As president of Orlando Rabbit Care and Adoptions – an organization dedicated to responsible pet ownership – she travels throughout her region educating children, civic groups, uninformed owners, etc. She receives many calls at Christmas and Easter when owners give away rabbits as presents for such purposes – these calls become particularly busy.
Schrader has gained much insight into bunnies through her relationship with Martan. She has become fluent with their body language, satisfying their need for reciprocal grooming, and performing the perfect bunny happy dance: an airborne twist expressing thanks for being alive. Schrader knows their bones can break under stress or fear and how vulnerable their lives are, while discovering just how little people understand about their complex needs.
Austin first released his rabbits into the Australian outback on his estate, where they enjoyed ample food and protection from carnivorous reptiles and dingoes. A study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that these Australian rabbits have an ancestry linked to those from southwestern England – where Austin originally shipped his shipment – which may explain their success at wiping out native plants while costing farmers $200 million annually in crop losses.