Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit may be a cute little bunny, but
his family members can sure do a lot of damage around the place.
There have been rabbits in my life for as long as I can
remember. Nearly every evening we would
see them as they emerged from their burrows, and they were so adorable running
and jumping around as they frolicked together.
Most of them had brown fur, but I remember one black one
that I thought was so special.
What I wasn’t aware of then, was that they could eat so much
pasture grass and were thought of as a major pest in the farming community. Rabbit Stew was often on our childhood menu!
Today they are considered one of the most serious
agricultural and environmental pests in New Zealand, costing millions of
dollars in lost production and more millions in trying to control them.
Their burrows can also cause extensive land damage, contributing
to erosion problems and making a lot of farming land unproductive.
I refuse to believe that rabbits are all bad, though. They were originally introduced to New
Zealand for use as food as they were hardy and reproduced at a tremendous rate.
Early sailing ships would drop off rabbits and goats onto
isolated islands in case some luckless sailors were shipwrecked there. Their fur could also be used for clothing.
And they make really sweet pets 😊
I have a little rabbit,
Whose ears are soft as silk.
His eyes are round as saucers,
And his coat as white as milk.
My rabbit cannot talk to me,
But only twitch his nose.
I can tell when he is happy,
As twitchety-twitch he goes!
Margaret xx
In Wolfsburg, where I worked, you had to be careful to not hit one with the car and also in some places here in Braunschweig they are called a pest.
ReplyDeleteBut they are so cute!!
One company meeting they served also rabbit. My boss eeeeked out. Especially when I said, hmmm, yummy.
Oh, come on, it´s also food...
But, yes, the eyes, awwww.
I sadly never had one as a pet, cute rhyme.
Have a happy day xx
The damage caused by rabbits in New Zealand and Australia verges on catastrophic and is the direct result of human folly.
ReplyDeleteI hate that they do cause so many problems in agriculture. They are just so cute....
ReplyDeleteThere are rabbits on this island too, Margaret. I’ve only ever seen one though. I love rabbit stew. Great photo of one!
ReplyDeleteThey are such cute looking animals but do so much damage. Trouble is they multiply so quickly
ReplyDeleteYes, the sweet illustrations, and some b loggers going on and on about how they love them.... Don't match with our experience here. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....
ReplyDelete🐈
My son has wild hares frolicking on his farm. I didn't even know that we had them here, just thought we had rabbits. Yes, a major problem here. One of my daughters had a pet miniature half angora white rabbit. She was such a personality, and loved my young daughter.
ReplyDeleteSweet! 😄
ReplyDeleteCute but definitely a problem. I've chased many a rabbit out of my flowerbeds! I do enjoy my little pet bunny though. She's cute and causes no problems.
ReplyDeleteI love rabbits. Then are so adorable. I never would have thought of them as pests.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are correct - sweet as they may look, they are a major pest... and 'prairie chicken' has been served to me too :)
ReplyDeleteStay safe
Blessings
Maxine
I agree, Margaret, they are cute little creatures, one at a time, in a cage. We don't any around here but there were plenty on the old farm. Hunters who asked permission to shoot ducks were always refused but I'd tell them they were welcome to come and thin out the rabbits, possums and turkeys.
ReplyDeleteWhen we had our 5 acre property in the Far North (north of Awanui) the rabbits had not arrived over the Mangamuka's then one spring we saw a couple of cute bunnies on our lawn. It did not take long for our trees and my potting shed to all be undermined. From then on rabbit was often on the menu.
ReplyDeleteGood form of protein and they can have babies every 35 days or so:)
ReplyDeleteFirst time I became aware of the rabbit problem was when I saw the movie The Rabbit Proof Fence. I thought it was so strange that they had build that very long fence. I think that was in Australia, but the rabbit problem is probably the same. There is a Norwegian saying : "Too much and too little spoils everything" It is sad that there are too much of those cute animals!
ReplyDelete