I tried my hand at creating this knitted rabbit using FuzzyMitten’s pattern on Etsy.com. I discovered that my sewing skills weren’t really up to par, but it was fun anyway. Here was the result!

The Humane Society of the United States has discovered that major retailers are selling clothes mislabeled as having faux fur. In fact, laboratory examination showed that the fur was actually real. Many jackets were lined with fur from rabbits, raccoons, and raccoon dogs (a type of dog bred in China whose fur resembles that of a raccoon).

The list of retailers included Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Dillards, Yoox, and Bloomingdales. Offending designers included Burberry, Andrew Marc, Adam+Eve, Ramosport, Aqua, Marc New York, and Preston & York.

For more information: http://hsus.org/furfree/news/holiday_shoppers_real_fur_as_faux_122007.html

(Thanks Jen for alerting me to this!)

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has begun a campaign against Mars Inc in response to their cruel treatment towards rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, and mice. They are asking shoppers to boycott M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Starburst, Dove, and Skittles. Experiments by Mars included forcing rabbits to eat high cholesterol diets with cocoa, then killing them to cut out the blood vessels to their hearts. Their competitor, Hershey, does not experiment on animals.

For more information: http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=10660
For photos: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//071213/480/ed8ce1979d40414b94c500c727330d0c/#/071221/photos_us_rank_afp/e6bdd7f5e9fedea18edeafea3cb66e5f

In July of 2007 PetSmart began a trial campaign to test the demand for rabbit sales. The trial took place in select markets (including our local PetSmart) and lasted until recently. As a result of their trials PetSmart has decided to discontinue the sale of rabbits while continuing to support the in-store adoption of rabbits and other pets.

PetSmart press

Scunny Bunny, the official mascot of professional English soccer club Scunthorpe United, may be in trouble. The team was recently promoted to the Championship, the second highest soccer league just under the Premiership level. In light of this, a group of fans have started a petition to replace the existing fuzzy bunny mascot with the tougher, ‘Iron Lion.’

For more information: http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=152553&command=displayContent&sourceNode=232468&home=yes&more_nodeId1=152562&contentPK=19210453

Marni Soupcoff of the National Post writes about the life lessons she learned as a bunny owner. Read the article here: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=167041&p=1

Here’s a cute print by Brooklyn artist Kristiana Pärn called “Under the Marshmallow Tree”. It is available from Etsy.com for $20.00.

Here are few bunny calendars that I thought were cute:

• 
  The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: 2008 Wall Calendar
• 
  Bunny Suicides 2008 Calendar
• 
  Rabbits 2008 Wall Calendar

The Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund is launching a new campaign aimed at educating children about proper care of pet rabbits to be launched during Britain’s National Rabbit Week, January 21-27, 2008. The Jaffa Club, named after its founding rabbit, is a program for children aged 7-11, and will feature care sheets, videos cartoons, and a forum.

I found this news story particularly disturbing. Apparently, in Kelowna, British Columbia, pet rabbits that have been abandoned are now breeding and living in people’s yards. Many homeowners are upset about damage done to their property and would like the rabbits culled. Relief is widespread in knowing that many of the rabbits will not survive the winter.

There is a lot of debate as to who should handle the feral rabbit population – individual homeowners or the city. Parks manager Joe Creron maintains that it should be left to individuals. “I think the [property owner] goes to a pest company, the pest company will help trap them. It’s no different than mice,” Creron said. “We all have a responsibility here, and the government can’t do everything for everyone on their private property.”

View news article: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/12/07/bc-bunnyexplosion.html
View news video: http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/allen-bunny071207.mov