Rabbits freed by roof collapse go forth and multiply

Hundreds of well-bred rabbits took the opportunity to make new acquaintances and reproduce when a roof collapsed at Sweden's premier rabbit show at Nyköping in February.

The Nyköping exhibition, 100 kilometres south of Stockholm, had attracted 1,648 rabbits and their owners to the vast indoor tennis complex.

When the roof collapsed in the wake of a spate of heavy snowfalls, many of the prize pets found their cages had opened and they were at liberty to roam as they pleased amid the debris.



Workers tasked with clearing the fallen roof soon found that the quality bunnies had not lain idle. "They made new friends and they became a bit aroused by the incident. The builders told me it was a veritable circus in there," one rabbit breeder said.

With rabbits of all stripes and colours trapped in the wreckage the pairing frenzy has thrown up all manner of new combinations, as Dwarf Hotots nuzzled up to British Giants and Lionheads mounted Himalayans.

When the dust had settled and relieved owners returned home with their rescued rabbits, some 50 to 70 breeders found they were the beneficiaries of surprise litters.