Bigs bunny: monster rabbit devours English veggie
plots
Fri Apr 7, 11:21 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - In a tale reminiscent of the last Wallace and Gromit
movie, furious villagers in northeast England have hired armed
guards to protect their beloved communal vegetable gardens from a
suspected monster rabbit.
Leeks, Japanese onions, parsnips and spring carrots have all been
ripped up and devoured by the mystery were-rabbit -- prompting the
12 allotment holders in Felton, north of Newcastle, to hire two
marksmen with air rifles and orders to shoot to kill.
"It is a massive thing. It is a monster. The first time I saw it, I
said: 'What the hell is that?'" the Northumberland Gazette
newspaper quoted local resident Jeff Smith, 63, as saying on its
website (www.northumberlandtoday.co.uk).
He claims to have seen the black and brown rabbit -- with one ear
bigger than the other -- about two months ago, and at least three
fellow allotment holders say they have seen it as well.
"I have seen it and it is bigger than a normal rabbit. It's eating
all our crops and we grow the best stuff here," said retired miner
George Brown, 76, quoted by the domestic Press Association news
agency.
Smith could not be reached for comment Friday, but his mother told
AFP that the hare-raising story is true -- and no less an authority
than the British Rabbit Council said it was credible.
"Certain breeds do grow very big, like the Continental Giant" which
can be 66 centimetres (26 inches) in length or more, a spokesman
for the Nottinghamshire-based council, which represent rabbit
breeders, told AFP.
In the last hit movie featuring Wallace and his dog Gromit, the two
cartoon characters battled a monster rabbit that was cutting a
swathe of destruction through locals' prize vegetable plots.
Taken from:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060407/od_afp/afplifestylebritainfoodrabbitoffbeat_060407152117;_ylt=AjK_bALfEZB9p7lrIQLGBrUFO7gF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Talk about having a monster for a pet 
