The EARLESS BUNNY born near the tsunami-damaged Fukushima plant raising new nuclear fears

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Fresh fears? This bunny, born without ears, was found near the doomed Fukushima nuclear plant - but experts are sceptical over whether radiation was responsible


Fresh fears over a nuclear leak at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima plant have re-ignited after a rabbit born close to the facility was discovered with no ears.

Locals have been left wondering whether this earless bunny, which was reportedly found near the facility at the end of last month, is the first sign of side effects from the nuclear catastrophe.

The Fukushima plant suffered catastrophic damage when a tsunami, triggered by an earthquake, swept through the facility in March, destroying reactors.


Mutation suspicions: The bunny with two other rabbits, next to a radiation reading meter


Following a blast at the plant that caused the initial leaks, Japanese officials warned people living near Fukushima to stay indoors, turn off their air conditioning and stop drinking tap water.

Since then, experts have been nervously watching radiation levels in the area around the plant to determine the extent of the leak.


Is the radiation leak worse than expected? The bunny was found just outside the 30km exclusion zone of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station


Earlier this week it was revealed the Japanese government has more than doubled the estimate for the amount of radiation released by the plant.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency - a government watchdog - also said during a briefing in Tokyo that it is now believed that reactor cores in some of the units at the plant melted more quickly than previously thought.


Abnormal: Earless rabbits are rare and can occur either because of a genetic defect or through the mother rabbit biting off the ears if she is distressed


A video of the bunny was posted on YouTube and has quickly spread as an internet viral, labelled the 'nuclear rabbit'.

However according to the website NY Daily News, experts are sceptical as to whether radiation could be responsible for the bunny's lack of ears.

While high doses of radiation can cause cancer and other major health problems, radiation experts believe the likelihood of the rabbit's strange features being a result of nuclear mutation is very slim.


Sceptical: Experts are uncertain about links between the rabbit's strange appearance and the nuclear leak


In 2008, a healthy rabbit was born without ears in the UK, aptly-named Van Gogh.

While it is a rare occurrence, the deformity can happen because of a genetic defect or through the mother biting off the ears is she is distressed.

Dana Krempels, from the US-based House Rabbit Society, told the NY Daily News: 'I have to wonder whether there are any other bunnies in the group that have anomalies like that.

'I didn't see any. And that would make me very hesitant to cry "radiation" just because one baby bunny is missing his external ear pinnae.

'Whether it's due to radiation or some other factor is not possible to say, since these types of malformations do occasionally occur in the absence of known mutagens.'

However, rabbits' gestation periods are short - about 30 days - so if the bunny was born near Fukushima, this could be seen as an indication of radiation poisoning, as it would have been conceived well after the nuclear leak.


source: dailymail

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Bunny boiled: Family's horror as sick thugs BURN off their pet rabbit's ears

By Daily Mail Reporter

Upset: PJ Alexander, four, comforts Colin, who fortunately did not suffer any damage to his hearing


These shocking pictures show how heartless yobs burnt off a defenceless pet rabbit's ears in a sickening attack of pointless cruelty.

RSPCA inspectors have launched an investigation to catch the thug and any possible accomplice after the beloved pet's distraught owners returned from a wedding to make the gruesome discovery.

Pregnant mother-of-three Natalie Hall and her family had journeyed home from Scotland to find frightened one-year-old Colin in his hutch with his ears missing

He was the complete opposite of the fun-loving animal they had known with his wonderful 4in-long ears now just stumps.

Although 25-year-old Natalie initially thought Colin's ears were cut off she now believes they may have been burned off in the thoughtless attack.

She said: 'I was absolutely devastated when I saw him, I burst into tears. I didn't know how to tell my children.

'My daughter got half way down the garden and ran away crying her eyes out.

'He must have been in tremendous pain, he didn't show it and he's been really brave but it's an absolutely terrible example of cruelty.'

The full-time housewife and her partner Daniel Midgley, 23, are now caring for recovering Colin at their home in Scawthorpe, South Yorkshire.


Senseless attack: RSPCA are hunting for those responsible for the attack on Colin the rabbit, whose ears appear to have been burnt off


Cute: Colin before his ears were burned off in the sickening attack


The couple are also comforting children Ella-Mae, eight, PJ Alexander, four, and 18-month-old Kian.

A friend saw Colin's injuries when she popped around to check on him before the family returned.

'The vet said they cannot be certain what happened but they may have been burnt off. I cannot understand why someone would want to do this. The vet said he was shocked he was alive,' said Natalie.

She said: 'Colin is kept in a hutch in our back garden which is surrounded by an 8ft fence. The idea that someone would get in had never even entered our heads before.

'It's devastated the whole family. I'm even more emotional because I am pregnant, but it's hard to look at him without bursting into tears and the kids are appalled.
'For a whole week after it happened, when you picked him up he trembled because he was still in shock.

'Why do this to a poor little rabbit? It's frustrating because the police say as we don't have any concrete evidence it was a human attack, they can't do anything. But the vet has said this is definitely a deliberate human act rather than an attack from another animal.'

Colin is expected to make full recovery from shock and his hearing is not expected to be affected.

An RSPCA spokesman said: 'The matter has been passed to an RSPCA inspector who will investigate the matter further.'

Police confirmed officers were aware of the incident.


source: dailymail

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Forget the birdies, golfers find FIVE baby bunnies have set up home in a bunker

By Daily Mail Reporter

The five baby bunnies fast asleep in their warren in the middle of a golf bunker in Wadebridge, Cornwall


A golfer was stunned yesterday after he spotted a rabbit warren containing five baby bunnies in a bunker.

Rod Baker, 63, was playing a round at his local club when his wife Sheila, 60, hit a shot near the bunker on the ninth hole.

Sheila and Rod, of Wadebridge, Cornwall, approached the obstacle and saw a large hole in the sand.

They peered inside and were shocked to see a group of five baby rabbits huddled up in a nest made of grass and fur.

Rod, who runs a business designing power boats, said the tiny animals were sleeping just four yards from the green.

He said: 'They must only have been a few days old. My wife hit a shot near the bunker and that's how we spotted it.


The large hole in the bunker where the little rabbits have set up home next to the ninth green


'It's not what you expect to see in the bunker of a golf course.

'The course is always in very good condition so when we saw the big hole we had to take a closer look. I couldn't believe it.
'The rabbits looked very vulnerable. It's a good job we didn't hit a shot into the bunker on this occasion.'

The ninth hole at the St Kew golf club near Wadebridge has been closed so the rabbits are not disturbed.


source: dailymail

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