Giant Rabbits

And the people who want to eat them (close those lop ears, Cloudy!):

The 67-year-old pensioner opens one of the cage doors to reveal what looks at first glance to be a dog. ... No, this is a monster bunny, a King Kong of the Rabbit World, weighing in at 10kg (22 pounds), with ears that look as tall as the Reichstag.

Karl has been Germany's top rabbit breeder for years; but now his fame has spread 11,340 km (7,000 miles) east.

"Last October I got a call from the North Korean embassy," Karl says. ... "When the officials turned up on my doorstep, their eyes popped out of their sockets at the sight of my rabbits. I'm so proud that my bunnies will help feed the North Korean people."

...I convince Karl to reveal the secret of his success. He leads me deep underground into his basement to an Aladdin's cave full of kitchens and storerooms.

This is the nerve centre of the breeding operation, where Karl slaves over a hot stove from morning till night preparing food for 20 rabbits, each with a monster appetite.

"I treat my rabbits to a special menu," explains Karl. "I feed them different meals three times a day, food like potatoes, bio-parsley, shredded grain and plenty of water. As the Germans say, treat them well, and they'll grow swell!"

... As I watch Karl mixing up his latest concoction, his eyes sparkling like a mad professor, I cannot help feeling there is something rather unsavoury about the whole process.

After all, bunnies are supposed to be cuddly pets, aren't they? Not made into rabbit pie? That, says Karl, is hypocritical.

"Some people say it is wrong to kill rabbits. That is rubbish. In East Germany lots of people bred rabbits for the meat, as well as for the fur to make hats and gloves."