A plague of rabbits is devastating crops and community relations in France, where lawsuits are flying as farmers, hunters and landowners blame each other for failing to keep the population in check.
Amid mounting anger and destruction on a scale unknown for 30 years, cereal farmers are being advised to sue neighbours who allow wild rabbits to proliferate. In one case that sparked controversy this month, a hunter was ordered to pay €1,439 (£1,134) in damages to two farmers after a court ruled that he had not shot enough rabbits in his woods.
French internet sites are full of similar tales. The owner of a fallow field in northern France poured out his woes on one site after a neighbouring farm demanded €3,000 in compensation for the loss of 2,000 lettuces, 1.5 tonnes (3,300lb) of beet-root and 800kg (1,760lb) of carrots. “I have been in a black mood since Saturday morning,” he said.
Under French law, landowners have a civil responsibility to prevent an “excess number” of rabbits on their property. The issue is of acute concern in northeastern France, where the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) population has exploded in the past two years, devastating thousands of acres of land at a rate of up to 500 grammes per rabbit per day.
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