Giant German Bunnies Answer N. Korean Food Shortage

EBERSWALDE, Germany: Karl Szmolinsky has been Germany's top rabbit breeder for years and now his famous super-sized bunnies are North Korea's new hope to end hunger.

Mr. Szmolinsky began breeding rabbits 40 years ago when the endeavor was encouraged by the GDR government as a way for citizens to supplement their income. In the former communist state of East Germany, many people bred rabbits for meat and fur.

The 67-year-old retired truck driver and his hefty 23 pound rabbit named Robert won a competition in Brandenburg last year.

The media coverage spread to North Korea and in October 2006 Mr. Szmolinsky got a call from the North Korean embassy. One month later, delegates from the communist bastion were at Mr. Szmolinsky's door eager to see the rabbits.

"When the officials turned up on my doorstep, their eyes popped out of their sockets at the sight of my rabbits," Mr. Szmolinsky told the BBC.

The rabbits are impressive. In about 20 cages throughout his garden live grey bunnies the size of dogs.

His secret is a special menu developed over decades. Three times a day, Mr. Szmolinsky's bunnies are fed potatoes, bio-parsley, shredded grain and plenty of water. And he keeps a generous supply of stale brötchen, a German bread roll, in sacks throughout the garden. The recipes are meant to boost their appetite and make them grow even bigger.

The North Korean government wasted no time in striking a deal with Mr. Szmolinsky. Already, they have purchased 12 rabbits at a fraction of the cost that the seasoned breeder charges in Germany.

He told the AFP "I was delighted with their offer. I want to help the North Korean people because it's a very poor country. I'm doing this for the children and the people who are hungry, because having lived through the war as a child I know what hunger is."

Just one of Mr. Szmolinsky's rabbits can feed a family of six. The 12 rabbits that were shipped to North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, in December can produce as many as 60 offspring a year. The North Koreans are counting on the numbers to feed the hungry.

The famine that struck North Korea in the mid-1990s killed thousands of people and aftereffects linger today with frequent food shortages.

In addition to the generous purchase price, Mr. Szmolinsky threw in a copy of a breeding manual that he has used since the 1960s. In return, the North Korean government has offered to pay for Mr. Szmolinsky to visit the newly established breeding farm outside Pyongyang. He plans to go to North Korea in April to see how the endeavor is doing in person.

Meanwhile, his super-sized bunnies are drawing more attention from hunger stricken countries like China and Peru.

Of sending his first batch of bunnies off to feed the hungry, Mr. Szmolinsky said "I'm so proud that my bunnies will help feed the North Korean people." He also noted "The people are not in power. Instead of building bombs, the government should feed its people."

Sources:

Cyril Julien "German breeding super-sized rabbits to feed North Korea" AFP, February 11, 2007 http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/germanynkoreaanimals;_ylt=Athn1mcEFFYvT1Gm.Mqu2blvaA8F

Steve Rosenberg "N Korea hungry for German bunnies" BBC News, February 1, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6320821.stm