Rabbits used in Anna Delvey photoshoot dumped in Prospect Park, sparking outrage: ‘Regret it deeply’

A hare-y situation has thrown the Big Apple’s infamous “fake heiress” Anna Delvey back in the spotlight.

The scammer-turned-model got ripped by animal lovers after several rabbits she used in a glamorous photoshoot were found dumped in Prospect Park last week.

Activists quickly drew the link to Delvey, who had posted photos from the downtown Manhattan shoot at around the same time as the rescues, with the caption “our bunny daycare is open.”

“These animals were left in a park to die right after this photoshoot. Living things are not your photo props,” artist Alison Kuo commented under Delvey’s Instagram post.

Delvey claims she was totally oblivious, telling Page Six on Monday: “I do not eat meat, and I had no involvement in the acquisition, transport, or return of these animals. I would never condone these actions.”

Animal lovers are slamming Anna Delvey after several rabbits used for her glamorous downtown Manhattan social media photoshoot were found dumped in Prospect Park.

But the same can’t be said for Christian Batty, a 19-year-old assistant on the photoshoot, who wrote in a statement on social media that he “panicked” when he realized he’d be responsible for the floppy-eared “props.”

“When I realized the rabbits were being surrendered to me, I panicked,” he wrote in the hare-brained confession, which Delvey shared on her own Instagram account Sunday.

“At 19, with no experience caring for animals … and no knowledge of available resources, I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice,” Batty wrote. “Believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them [in Prospect Park], thinking that was my best option. That belief was wrong, and I regret it deeply.” 

Three of the abandoned bunnies were picked up by animal rescuer Terry Chao, who told The Post that she and two neighbors, Jenna Goins and Jennifer Babcock, had rescued Parker, a harlequin lop, on August 4 and Moon, also a harlequin, three days later with the help of roommates. The free-roaming bunnies were brought to the group’s attention by a series of community Facebook posts spotting the domestic pets in Prospect Park.

Rescuers caught wind of the stunt after the familiar-looking floppy-eared props were rescued from the Brooklyn park on Aug. 4 and 7, respectively. Instagram/veganchao

Chao said she was notified about Delvey’s photoshoot on Saturday — and was already familiar with it because Batty had initially reached out to her to see if she would lend the team her own Instagram-famous rabbit. 

The rescuer then realized the trio in the pics were identical to the rescued bunnies she and her neighbors speculated had just come from a “mass dumping” in the area.

“I realized that in [Delvey’s] post that she was holding Parker… My stomach just dropped because I saw a third bunny in the photos, along with Moon and Parker,” she said.

Batty originally offered Chao $100 to use her rabbit for the photoshoot, but after a series of miscommunications and missed replies, Delvey’s assistant found another rabbit to use.

“Anon posts calling out Christian & Anna started appearing on the NYC Rabbits group & Reddit piecing the evidence together. It was undeniable these were the exact same bunnies from her shoot,” Chao wrote in an Instagram post.

“The pressure worked & a confession was issued,” she said, adding that Batty went to Prospect Park with her to help rescue a third missing bunny, a gray fur-ball who has since been named Joaquin, after the actor.

“When I saw [Batty] had posted, I was like, this is the same person who was trying to scout my money,” Chao said.

Terry Chao helped rescue the three rabbits, which Batty acquired from a Yonkers woman on Facebook. Instagram/veganchao

“I don’t know if I could have prevented it, but some part of me wonders if I had gone to the shoot, if I could have prevented it,” she said.

The trio of cotton-tails had been obtained by Batty — a friend of Delvey’s hairstylist on set — from a Yonkers woman looking to surrender her leporine models on a local Facebook group, rescuers said.

A fourth rabbit, Benito, was borrowed from its owner, who wrote on Instagram that they “happened to see Anna Delvey’s story that she needed a bunny for a photoshoot and thought it would be nice for him to meet other rabbits.”

The owner said they were told the other bunnies in the shoot “also came from a loving home.”

Batty said the faux heiress was “not involved in anything beyond the photoshoot and did not realize the situation until today.”

“I lied to Anna, and the rest of the team about the rabbits,” Batty’s statement said.

Despite Batty’s apology, Chao said he and Delvey deserve to be held accountable.

“I know Christian has apologized, but I mean, absolutely, they need to be responsible for throwing perfectly healthy, innocent domestic animals into the park like trash after using them as props,” Chao said. 

Goins, who helped rescue the bunnies, also alleged that Delvey’s crew had mistreated the cuddly creatures before they were released.

“Even if Anna doesn’t want to take responsibility for knowing anything about the rabbits, she still put them on leashes,” Goins said.

“In that photo where she had the bunny upside down, that’s not an appropriate thing to do to a bunny. [It] puts them in a very shocked and fearful state that can be deathly to them,” she said.

Delvey, real name Anna Sorokin, once tried to scam her way to the top of New York’s social scene and was convicted in 2022 of scamming banks and businesses out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them [in Prospect Park], thinking that was my best option,” Batty wrote. “That belief was wrong, and I regret it deeply.”  Instagram/Anna Delvey

The real-life inspiration for the Netflix series “Inventing Anna” now touts 1.1 million Instagram followers – and regularly poses with her ankle monitor since she was released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody while she fights being deported to Germany.

Delvey has since promised Chao she will donate to a rabbit rescue – despite accusing her of libel in a series of Instagram DMs for posting about the bunny saga.

“Until yesterday afternoon, I had every reason to believe the rabbits from our shoot had been safely returned to our owners, you might want to verify the facts before, publicly attacking people,” Delvey said, according to messages reviewed by The Post.

Kathy Nizzari, of animal advocacy group Lights Out Coalition, told The Post that rabbit dumping in Prospect Park is “fairly common” – despite the offense carrying a punishment of up to one year in prison and/or a fine of up to $1,000, if convicted.

Animal rescue sources familiar with dumping at Prospect Park estimated at least six rabbits unrelated to the Delvey photo shoot were found last week alone.

“This happens way too often — usually by pet owners — but it never occurred to me a photographer would do such a thing,” said Mary Beth Artz, a local rescuer at the Brooklyn park, “although it often happens with photographers around Easter time with ducklings and chicks.”

Edita Birnkrant, executive director of animal advocacy group NYCLASS, called on Delvey to “donate a hefty sum to local rescue groups,” naming the organization They All Want to Live.

Such groups “have to go to extraordinary effort and expense to rescue, vet and rehome animals like this, who are dumped in parks and left to slowly die due to cruel and irresponsible actions of adults who should know better,” Birnkrant said.