Pardon the lazy conceptual framework here, but I present for you today two stories about rabbits. The Easter season seems to be bringing a lot of rabbit stories into the news. I'd normally be ashamed to perpetuate this sort of tendency, but the stories are out there, and the picture in the second story is well worth it.

1. For the fifteenth year in a row, New Zealanders will celebrate Easter weekend by going out and killing as many rabbits as possible. It's all for the environment, as Sploid reports. Rabbits were introduced to the island from Europe, and have bred and eaten like crazy, creating serious environmental problems.

According to the Australia and New Zealand Rabbit Calicivirus Disease Program, who happen to have a superb logo, "Wild rabbits compete with livestock for available pasture and kill young trees and shrubs. Their warrens contribute to soil erosion by removing vegetation and disturbing soil."

A survey from New Zealand's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry basically found that people like bunnies:

In the focus group discussions, participants expressed positive reactions to images of rabbits and almost unanimously separated the animal from the pest.... It was clearly demonstrated in the focus groups that the images used to promote discussion were crucial to the responses given. For example, a picture of a healthy resting rabbit superimposed on a lush farm landscape evoked largely positive responses.

21,000 rabbits and hares got done in at last year's Great Easter Bunny Hunt.

2. Gardens in Northeastern Brittain have recently been ravaged by a giant, dog-sized rabbit! I guess the picture's pretty similar to the one Jennifer linked to a little while ago, but it never can hurt to look at lots of pictures of giant animals. As Teddy Roosevelt probably said.