Benny is a Flemish Giant house rabbit living in Oxfordshire, England.

Measuring 82 centimeters long (~32 inches), Benny is longer than the previous record holder, Amy, a Continental Giant who died last May who measured 81.5 cm.

Benny joined Martin and Sharon Heather’s household last year when Martin came across the large bunny at an animal sanctuary.  Although sanctuary staff warned that Benny didn’t really warm to people,  Benny took an instant liking to Martin.  With that, the Flemish Giant was welcomed into the Heather family.

Benny enjoys the run of the house and is often found snuggling with the family dog on the sofa.

For more info: The Courier-Mail

Amy, a Continental Giant rabbit, who measured 4 feet and weighed in at 42 pounds, died the night before a scheduled appearance on an Italian TV program.  Thought to have died of a heart attack, the enormous rabbit had packed on pounds with a diet high on starches and sugars: two apples, a handful of carrots, half a cabbage, fresh hay and a dog-sized bowl of rabbit mix every day.

Although Annette Edwards, Amy’s owner, insists that Amy was not overweight and was fed a proper diet, I think Amy would have benefited from a more fibrous diet with limited starches.  Hopefully, Ms. Edwards will learn from this experience and give a proper diet to Amy’s offspring, of which there are 32.  But the outlook is grim, as Ms. Edwards speculates that Amy’s daughter Alice will set a new record for largest rabbit. According to Edwards, “We think Alice is two inches longer.”

For more info:
The Telegraph
The Sun
Natural Environment Blog