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Rabbit (symbolic image)
Photo: WILDLIFE/R.Canis
In the face of a rabbit plague, a mayor in southern France is causing a stir with an unusual campaign. The town hall boss of Baillargues near Montpellier has large posters hung at around 60 bus stops and other locations, the broadcasters BFMTV and France 3 reported on Sunday. These warn of the damage caused by rabbits - and list the recipe for preparing rabbit ragout.
"Let's fight against the spread of wild rabbits," is written at the top of the posters, where a large rabbit looks at the viewer. The text reads: “It is I who destroy your garden and your fields and your railway line at night.”
Of course, the campaign was meant to be tongue in cheek, but it was intended to provide impetus to finally combat the rabbit plague, said Mayor Jean-Luc Meissonnier. The animals stole part of farmers' crops, destroyed the local golf course and caused damage to the railway embankment.
Mayor criticizes lack of hunting
The rabbits have already eaten the strawberries grown by one farmer and if no action is taken, lettuce, chives or onions will be next in danger, says Meissonnier. The mayor said the population of rabbits had grown because the animals were not being hunted sufficiently.
"It's a pity that we don't go back to those good dishes that delighted an entire family with something that wasn't expensive," said the mayor about his call for the preparation of rabbit ragout.
Animal rights activists, meanwhile, are outraged by the campaign and point out that it was the Association for the Protection of Wild Animals (Asap) that only last year enforced a ban on hunting foxes, the natural enemies of rabbits. In other areas, rabbit populations have also declined sharply. Instead of turning the rabbits of Baillargues into ragout, it would be better to catch them and release them back into these regions.
wit/dpa