Good God, The Giant Spanish Rabbits Are Back!

"What's up doc?" the mutants say:

The Valencia Agricultural Research Institute has launched a breeding programme of the rare Valenciano rabbit and predicts that it could be on supermarket shelves within three years.

It is hoped that the animals, which can grow as big as a lamb and produce 7kgs (15lbs) of meat, will prove popular as a healthy and cheap alternative to red meat.

The Valenciano breed was established in 1912 when farmers cross bred large domestic Spanish rabbits with the imported Flemish Giant variety and for decades it appeared on dinner tables across the nation.

Vicente Garcia, the agricultural engineer in charge of the project, said: "These animals were valued by farmers for their meat and the speed at which they bred, often producing up to 16 young in each litter."

During the first half of last century the enormous rabbits were exported across Europe and to Cuba, Argentina and Chile but by the 1970s they were close to extinction in Spain.

"Only a very few examples of the breed still exist in Spain," Mr Garcia told Spanish newspaper 20minutos. The breed had only survived in two isolated areas of Spain, he added, because the giant rabbits were bred by enthusiasts as pets.

...They are about the same size as the renowned German grey giant, but honey coloured.