June 2010

THE • Life at the Do Hop Inn

B UN OL O GI S T •
•
•
Honey loves Mr B
Dangerous mulch for buns
Fox alert
Your FREE monthly rabbit newsletter • Choosing the right litter tray
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What’s News? Obsessed with Jessica Rabbit

30 April 2010 – HipHopRx (UK)
Masterchef puts rabbit back on the menu
24 May 2010 - nqr.farmoline.com.au (Aus)

GOURMET cooking programs such as MasterChef are

putting rabbit back on the Australian dinner plate.

The popularity of rabbit recipes is now so high that bunny

farmers say supply is failing to meet demand. On the
state's largest rabbit farm, at Kyogle in northern NSW –
which produced almost 100,000 rabbits last year – the
number of breeding does is set to rise from 5000 to 7000.

"We've hit a point where we need to fit out two more

sheds," said the general manager of Border Range Fresh
Farmed Rabbit, Allan Clarke.
Border Range breeds its animals through artificial
insemination, slaughters the rabbits and sells them to
restaurants and butcher shops in Sydney and Brisbane.
The kittens, a cross New Zealand white and California
white, are weaned at 35 days and slaughtered at 77 days.
Nationally, farmers produce about nine tonnes of rabbit
meat a week, Farmed Rabbit Industries of Australia says.
"Production has more than doubled in the last 18 months to
two years," its director Chris Bushell said. "With shows like
MasterChef, they really kicked rabbit ahead."
Meet Annette Edwards: a 57 year old grandmother, known
for breeding giant bunnies, is obsessed with the cartoon
character Jessica Rabbit. She is so obsessed with Jessica
Rabbit that she spent $16,000 on cosmetic surgery to
mimic the cartoon character.
Edwards also claims to have gone on the ‘ Jessica Rabbit’
diet by eating salads and cereals to get the shape of
Jessica Rabbit’s body.
She added, "I've always loved...the cartoon character. I just
think she's a very sexy cartoon, or woman. With curves in
the right places."

HELP US STOP THE INCREASE OF And it's not just Jessica Rabbit she loves. It's all rabbits,
RABBIT FACTORY FARMS and she breeds real ones in her spare time

Her family thinks that she’s a little crazy, but that’s not
PLEASE SIGN our petition – stopping her from being Jessica Rabbit.
We have reached over 400 signatures but we need YOU
Rabbits are NOT food
See Annette Edwards’
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/rabbits- interview about her new
are-not-food Jessica Rabbit makeover.

PLEASE join BOING’s Facebook page –

Say NO to rabbit on Masterchef
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gi Video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsO60Q1VbuE&feature=
d=109039065782072 player_embedded
Rabbits are NOT food! The rabbits used for food are NO
different to pet rabbits. They are just the unlucky ones.
 Lulu, on the other hand, was quite unwell for a few days.
Life at the Do Hop Inn We were very worried about her. She sometimes has
trouble going to the toilet and strains. It’s very painful for
By Karen
her and she gets very tired. The pain of straining then
makes her not want to eat, so stasis set in. She was on
This month I found myself speaking to a number of people
critical care, fluids and pain relief for a few days until finally
about their bunnies which always reminds me how much I
she passed some faeces. She was so happy after that and
didn’t know when Dingleberry first came to live with us back
we are hopeful that she’ll be okay for the next week as she
in late 2001.
is booked in for surgery to help her with her condition.
Our expectations for a rabbit were very low. Both Nimal & I
didn’t know much about rabbits and all we knew was
stereotypical information about lettuce, carrots & hutches.
Thank goodness for the US House Rabbit Society’s
website!!! (www.rabbit.org)

The problem is a small lump that sits near her bladder.

We’re not really sure what the lump is yet but surgery will
I imagine most people who get their first bunny make loads help to either remove it or attempt to open it up. The lump
of mistakes… just like us! This month reminded me how seems to cause a blockage at times when Lulu needs to go
poorly we started out with Dingy. She really is lucky she’s to the toilet. Of course, we’re worried about Lulu and
still with us! Fortunately for her, she was 8 weeks old when surgery but if we can fix the condition, it will help Lulu for
we took her home so she had been weaned from mum. the future.
Her younger siblings from the accidental second litter
probably didn’t have as good a start as Dingy.
Unfortunately, we didn’t really know what to feed her
though. She suffered a terribly icky bottom from all those
carrots we gave her, ate her way through several rugs and
Bunny care videos
suffered many phantom pregnancies until we realized we
should have her spayed. Learn about rabbits on Rescue Roundtable
Many of our bunnies now have the benefit of all that we
have learnt from Dingy. After she suffered a life
threatening stasis episode in 2004, we started taking our
bunny care far more seriously. We almost lost her and that
was a wake up call to us that we needed to find out far
more about rabbits. This video is around 26 minutes but it has really great
advice & information on caring for rabbits
This month we also had a few buns that didn’t feel so well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE6DN7SF5Rs&feature=related
Izzy (pictured below) wasn’t so well as she was moulting
and went off her food for one day. Fortunately, she
bounced back reasonably quickly. Rabbit rescue interview on Daytime

This video is about a rescue in California of 400 rabbits

saved from a factory farm. Really interesting & some really
good information on rabbit care.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAJkTAYTGQk
 Honey loves Mr B DANGER PRODUCT
By Karen Clarke
Toxic mulch
I have to share a recent magical experience.

My desexed female rabbit called Honey lost her female

companion 3 months ago. Since then she has made our
yard look like a war zone, constantly digging holes. I called
the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic and questioned behaviour
management - is she going through the terrible 2s? She’s
not a good landscape gardener, has a healthy diet, toys
and of course, like all our pets, is spoilt!

The rabbit clinic suggested a bunny date at the Australian

Animal Protection Society’s shelter to find Honey a new
companion. So I called Leigh to organize a bunny date for
Honey. We arrived with a donation of bunny vegies which
the bunnies were all excited about. Honey was nervous
because she isn’t used to being ín a pet carrier or the car.

I wondered how could Leigh choose a date from all those

fluffy bunnies? However, forget Honey, I was in love over
and over again with them all!!!!

We left Honey’s carrier with the other rabbits whilst Honey

was speed dating. When I went back to get the carrier, it
was full of inquisitive bunnies. Leigh generously gave me
some time to sit and be sniffed by so many friendly rabbits.
It was magic to be able to pat so many. A giant rex rabbit
sat on my feet and I just patted and patted!
If you have a bunny that plays in your backyard, please be
It was interesting watching bunnies interact. Eventually,
aware that many products (and plants) are poisonous to
Honey chose Mr B as her new friend. We adopted Mr B rabbits.
and drove them both home for their new life together.
The cocoa mulch shown above has been found to be
At home they both have their own space but they love to deadly to animals. It contains a lethal ingredient called
cuddle up together. Mr B is a still a little nervous but loves 'Theobromine' and if ingested, will cause death.
having a pat and exploring his new home.
The product smells like chocolate so it is very attractive to
cats, dogs & rabbits.

Although the mulch has NO warnings printed on the label,

upon further investigation on the company's website, this
product is HIGHLY toxic to animals.

FOX ALERT
Please be aware that foxes live in cities &
Mr B & Honey share a moment suburbs all around Australia. Rabbits are
prey animals and are in danger if left
At the shelter Leigh explained various rabbit behaviours - outside unsupervised or housed in flimsy
bonding, pairing etc which was very helpful. I admire this enclosures. You may not ever see a fox,
young woman so much. I have a feeling our bunny family but they are out there just waiting for their
is going to grow! opportunity to kill your bunny.

A recent alert in Mount Waverley (Melbourne) saw a fox

walking casually up the street in the early evening in full
Adopt your next bunny! view of the residents. Foxes in Australian suburbs are
Australian Animal Protection Society
increasing in numbers. Be very cautious & careful with
10 Homeleigh Road, Keysborough your bunny.
(03) 9798 8415
www.aaps.org.au
 Pumpkin loves his
Choosing the right litter new underbed
storage tray as he
tray for your bunny has so much more
room now
by Karen
(this isn’t the best tray as
Over the years, it has come to my attention that when the wheels are big &
choosing a litter tray for a bunny, I think - the BIGGER, the interfere with the interior
of the tray)
BETTER!

I have various sized litter trays for our buns. When

Next option is a tray used to mix gardening material
Dingleberry first arrived, we provided her with the tiniest
(below). We found these at Bunnings when they were
little tray. It was ridiculous!! She outgrew it in a few weeks.
selling them off cheaply so it was a great find at the time
We would buy another and then another until finally we
(not sure if they still sell them?).
found one that was suitable for her.

Fortunately, there are lots of litter tray options to find the

Princess loves
best for your bunny.
this tray as she
has loads of
This sized
room
tray is a
little small
for Princess
but good
for smaller
bunnies
Next option are storage containers. These are higher to
jump into but the sides are high so it’s great for buns who
like to hide in their trays, can jump in/out easily and for
buns who tend to wee off the sides of their tray.
Cat litter trays (pictured above) from $2 shops are fabulous.
This is Tessie
They are the smaller option but they are cheap and usually
in the storage
suit a smaller bun, like a netherland dwarf.
container.
She’s a little
Next up are the bigger options. The tray below is from
bun so could
Bunnings and cost around $20. However, it’s very sturdy
have a smaller
and doesn’t chip, split or break like some of the cheaper
tray but this
trays.
one is good as
she likes to
hide

Next option are kid’s clam shells. One clam shell side
makes a great play tray. I use one of these for our two
angoras who love to jump in their tray, dig and play. The
clam shells cost around $20 for two sides so that’s pretty
good value but the buns have to be able to jump pretty high
to get in & out.

Lulu fits nicely into this tray

The next option is the underbed storage container. A

bunny friend put me onto this one and I’ve been recently
buying them up from $2 stores. They range in price from
$10-$15, depending on the shop. The best ones have the
tiny wheels that fit underneath and not interfere with the
flatness of the inside of the tray. Missy & Charlie love their tray

Clarence the Super-Spy
Movie Adventure!
Part 1: The Duke of Clarence.
By James Robertson.
Previously… Clarence the
Super-Spy, the greatest super-
spy who ever lived found the
Time Manipulator Orb in the
depths of the Spy League junk
yards and used it to create a
Time Machine which was soon
stolen by Clarence’s opposite,
Ecneracl and threatened to
make the Earth his new Anti-
Spy League. Clarence stopped him, but that Christmas
Peanut accidently used the Time Machine to transport
them to World War II. His Time Machine hasn’t played up
since… till now.
Clarence fumbled with the GUIDE, a mysterious purple
book a soothsayer bestowed upon him when he was in
Washington a few months earlier. The soothsayer had said
that his end was coming and Clarence still didn’t know what
he meant.
But as Clarence was aimlessly fumbling with the GUIDE his
Time Machine was short-circuiting. Within his cluttered
desk the remote-sized device was letting out tiny electric
shocks and jumping. Then suddenly an invisible line of time
shot out of the device, up the stairs, through the corridor
and struck Clarence, taking him through time. But the time
line didn’t stop there; it struck Bunneary at the vegan
cheese convention, Pumpkin, Poppy and Molly at the Do
Hop Inn and Boris, Clarence’s American cousin from
California. The Time Machine took these bunny spies back
in time, by centuries.
Poppy, Pumpkin and Bunneary hit the mound of hay first,
then the three lighter bunnies; Clarence, Boris and Molly
fell afterward.
Pumpkin is Clarence’s old friend from spy school and a
close acquaintance. He is a tubby, orange bunny with a
kind, butter heart.
Poppy is the first of the three giant, hot bunny girls of the
Do Hop Inn. She is a giant, white bunny with a nice black
nose and ears.
Bunneary is a spotty black and white bunny whose ears
drag on the floor endlessly. He is Clarence’s honorable
assistant.
Molly is just an ordinary, chocolate bunny from the Do Hop
Inn. And Boris is an extremely handsome Silver Martin from
California, a proud Admiral of the Californian Seaside
Defence force.
The six bunnies bundled out of the hay mound and onto
soft grass. Clarence had the Time Machine in his paw and
looked at the Location Co-Ordinates Dial: 1325,
Nottingham, England.
‘Clarence, why did you bring us all here?’ asked Molly.
Clarence turned around. ‘I didn’t bring us all here,’ he said
protectively. ‘It was the Time Machine.’
Pumpkin prodded the ground. ‘Then where are we?’ he
asked.
‘We’re in Nottingham, 1325,’ Clarence said shortly.
‘Can you warp us back to 2010?’ Poppy asked.
Clarence fiddled with the Time Machine and peered at the
switches. ‘It appears,’ he said, ‘that the Time Machine
doesn’t want to work.’
At that moment a herd of stainless-steel armored bunnies
bundled across the clean grass oval and surrounded
Clarence and his mates with long metal spears otherwise
known as swords. ‘You six must comith with us and
standith trial against the Duke!’ said the black armored one.
Clarence held out his paws defensively. ‘What did we do
wrong?’ he asked outrageously.
The black armored knight pulled out a scroll of paper from
his leather belt and read it out. ‘You havith beenith
convicted of witch-craft and intruding on thou Duke’s
property,’ he said proudly.
Bunneary frowned. ‘But witch-craft doesn’t-‘ before
Bunneary could finish his intruding sentence Boris elbowed
him in the gut.
‘Comith.’ The herd of bunny knights made a barrier around
the six spies and escorted them along the oval. The oval
was actually a large front yard, boarded off to the other
territories by huge, dark-green hedges. As they were
escorted a huge, marble palace came up in the distance.
This must be where this ‘Duke’ lives, Clarence thought.
When they came up to the stairs to the front door the
knights signaled for everyone to be silent and opened the
front doors, marching everyone in. The floors were black
and white tiles, like a chess board and many podiums were
placed against the reflective marble walls with valuable and
fancy prized-possessions placed upon them. At the end of
this glamorous hall was a velvet stair to an even more
velvet throne where a sleek black, tubby bunny sat. He
wore a proud and humble crown with many jewels and a
long velvet cape with little rubies hanging off the ends.
The black knight shyly brought the spies forward to the
Duke, ‘Duke, we havith broughtith those witches to thy.’
The black knight stepped back and the Duke began to talk.
‘Thy owner of this palace and thou willith be punished badly
for intruding on thou property,’ he said, his voice low and
husky.
Clarence sniffed, eyed the Duke unnoticeably and spoke
up. ‘What is your honorable title, your Dukeness?’
The Duke frowned. ‘My title beith… The Honorable Duke of
Clarence!’
Boris, Poppy, Bunneary, Pumpkin and Molly turned to
Clarence and gaped. But Clarence gaped much harder.
‘But…… but, you can’t punish us badly, um…’ Clarence
stammered. ‘I’m related to you.’
The Duke lifted an eyebrow. ‘Me and my friends are from
the future and I’m the future heir to your fortune,’ Clarence
explained.
The Duke frowned, then looked quite angry indeed. ‘Thou
try to trickith thy!’ he cried.
Clarence and the other bunnies shrunk back. ‘But he’s
telling the truth,’ Boris insisted. ‘He is apart of the Clarence
heritage!’
The Duke, still cross, thought for a second. ‘Thy daughter
hasith a wayith of detecting lies,’ the Duke thought out loud.
He then nodded approvingly. ‘Knights, takith these witches
to thy daughter’s room,’
The knights surrounded the spies again and marched them
across the hall and up a set of isolated stairs. It was a short
walk until they reached a door, a red-paint splattered door
with many beads stuck on the doorknob. The black knight
knocked and a soft, sweet voice replied; ‘Comith in.’
The black knight opened the door and pushed Clarence
and his mates in, shutting the door behind them. The room
wasn’t incredibly big, but all the same it was also lined and
coated with many velvet rugs and curtains. There was a
basic wooden desk with cryptic papers littering its surface
and a purple velvet bed of straw. Standing in front of
another, much smaller desk was a young girl bunny that
reminded Clarence and Boris of Clarence’s identical sister
Fibre. The girl bunny turned around from the smaller desk.
‘Thou the Duke of Clarence’s daughter… Wendy!’ said the
bunny abruptly. ‘I know why you are here, my father wishes
to know if you are lying about being a future relative.’
Clarence nodded.
‘Thy are not lying,’ Wendy said suddenly. ‘Thou sorry about
thou father, butith thy has beenith suspicious since the
storms,’
They all frowned and eyed each other. ‘What storms?’
Poppy asked.
Wendy frowned. ‘The metallic storms,’ she said basically.
‘Thou has beenith many lately and thou Black Baths havith
beenith disturbed.’
Clarence’s mind ticked. ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Back in my own
time a soothsayer in Washington gave me this GUIDE and
told me my end was coming and to not look into the Black
Baths of Time.’
Wendy turned around, looked at the smaller desk and
frowned. ‘Well that beith thou Black Baths of Time,’ she
said.
Clarence took out the GUIDE and flipped open a page.
Everyone, including Wendy gathered around. On the
desolate page was a little dot, but it soon came closer and
to there amazement formed letters: “He is coming…” read
the final formed words.
Clarence stared out the window where many grey and
purple clouds were gathering in the sky. Lightning flashed
and disturbing thunder roared. The palace shook and
everyone toppled over. Wendy looked stricken. ‘Not
another storm,’ she muttered to herself.
She went up to the windowsill and peered out. ‘Though thy
one lookith different?’
‘WENDY!!!’ shouted the Duke from the hall.
Wendy raced out the door, beckoning the spies as she did.
They scampered down the winding stairway and arrived in
front of the Duke. And the Duke looked quite angry, glaring
at the spies. ‘You have brought evil into thou domain!’ he
thundered. ‘Knights! Putith them in thy dungeon.’
The knights cluttered towards the spies, swords held high.
But Wendy stepped in their path. ‘No!’ she yelled. ‘Thou
didn’t do this!’
She then turned to Clarence. ‘Do thou know who is doing
this?’ she asked.
Clarence put his paw to his chin thoughtfully. Truth was, he
didn’t know who was doing this. He then took out the Time
Machine and was shocked to see that the co-ordinates had
changed! “He is coming!” Clarence looked at the GUIDE
and the title had also changed. “He is coming!”
Suddenly everything clicked in Clarence’s mind. He knew
who it was, but before he could say it out loud the Duke
sent the Knights on Wendy, Clarence and the spies. But
there was another rattling crash and all the Knights fell
over. Clarence, Boris, Wendy, Pumpkin, Bunneary, Poppy
and Molly dashed around the fallen Knights and they ran
out the open door and onto the wide, lush oval.
The clouds were rumbling and stuttering. The Knights
followed them out with their swords. The six spies and
Wendy hid behind a huge hay bale as the Knights ran.
But then another, much louder bang knocked the Knights
onto their belly’s. The clouds shook and rumbled. Over the
middle of the oval the rough clouds ripped apart and a long,
flat grey-ish jet plane from the future slowly hovered out
and onto the oval
To Be Continued…