On October 27th, the Washington Post published a recipe for Rabbit Gumbo.
RabbitWise, a rescue group in the D.C. Metro area, submitted a response which was published in the Post today.
RabbitWise’s blog also mentions their response.
What do you think? Was their response effective? Do you think it would dissuade cooks from trying to prepare the recipe?
JudithPierce
San Diego House Rabbit Society
I am the author of the response discussed above (and Volunteer Director of RabbitWise). I must clarify that RabbitWise does not do actual rescue. We are an advocacy group who works WITH shelters and rabbit rescue groups, but our main focus is educating the public about rabbits and calling to the public’s attention the exploitation rabbits suffer from the food and fur industries, among others.
My hope in composing that letter is that the public will understand that rabbits are companion animals for many people and that to see them written up in a recipe is very painful. We want to change the perception of rabbits to companion animals, not dinner. Whether this will stop cooks from actually using the recipe, we can never know. We can only hope to open as many eyes as we can to how rabbits should be perceived.
Hi Paulette, I apologize for the misunderstanding about the nature of RabbitWise’s mission. I was under the impression that you were also a rabbit rescue organization. I echo your sentiments, and applaud your efforts to educate the public about the growing trend of rabbit on restaurant menus (and other forms of abuse/exploitation). Thanks for what you do! Best wishes, Tamara