'World's Biggest Rabbit' Stolen

Mixi April 14, 2021 | 05:45

Darius - the world's biggest rabbit has been stolen from its home over the border in Worcestershire on Saturday. The owner is expressing his sadness over this news and hopes someone will bring Darius back. For further information, check out right below!

Darius. Photo: The Guardian

World’s Longest Rabbit

Darius – a continental giant rabbit who holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's longest rabbit in 2010. According to the website, the bunny measures 4 feet, 23 inches.

The bunny is Edwards' fourth record-breaking rabbit and took the title from his mom, per the animal's website.

'World's largest rabbit' stolen from its home

Darius was taken from its enclosure in the garden of the property in Worcestershire overnight on Saturday.

Ms Edwards, who has bred more than 100 rabbits, told how she fed Darius at his usual dinner time between 7.30pm and 8pm. She then locked him up for the night. ‘I’m a very early morning person so I woke up on Sunday at 6.30 and noticed the door to his kennel was open and that’s when I went out and saw he was gone,’ she said.

‘We had the police involved and I was just trying to get my head around it but today reality has set in. ‘There are a lot of jealous people out there who would want him to breed but he’s too old for that now and it wouldn’t be healthy for him. ‘He’s getting old and he’s on a special diet so whoever has him won’t be able to feed him the proper food he needs; his diet has changed and he won’t live long unless he’s brought back.’

Darius. Photo: BBC

Owner Annette Edwards has offered a £1,000 reward for his return, saying it was a "very sad day".

‘It’s just really awful to think that someone could do this. We find it wicked to stoop to that level – it’s awful,’ she added.

Ms Edwards believes the disappearance of Darius was planned, as she explained thieves would have to cross a nearby farmer’s field to get to his hutch which is secured with bolts and locks. ‘We used to allow people to come and have a look at him and children would have pictures with him; he’s well known so there’s a lot of people that know the layout of this place,’ she explained. ‘I think the reason they didn’t take my other rabbits is because they’re too close to the dogs and the dogs would have barked which would have alerted us – Darius was an easy target.’ ‘I think there’s a good chance I’ll be reunited with him – I have to think positively because I’m so upset,’ she added, according to Metro.co.uk.

Ms Edwards pleaded on Twitter for those who took Darius to "please bring him back", saying he is "too old to breed now".

A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “We are appealing for information following the theft of an award-winning rabbit from its home in Stoulton, Worcestershire.

“It is believed the continental giant rabbit was stolen from its enclosure in the garden of the property of its owners overnight on Saturday 10 April to 11 April.”

The force have asked for those with information about the incident to contact PC Daren Riley via 101 quoting reference 00286-I-11042021.