Let me tell you a story about a man named Thomas Austin. In October of 1859, this Englishman unwittingly sowed the seeds for China's continued socio-economic success on his farm near Winchelsea, Victoria in Australia. Thomas dearly missed his weekend sport of rabbit hunting and was at a loss in this strange new bunniless land. He was determined to continue his hobby and wrote to his nephew in England to ship him some live bunnies from England to set free on his land. He set around 2 dozen of them free in hopes of creating a touch of home and perhaps a spot of hunting. What he created was a population explosion of a mammalian pest even more menacing than the rat.
Today, the rabbit infestation in Australia is still quite rampant. Particularly tragic is the infestation on Macquarie Island, the southernmost isle of Tasmania and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The island was recognized as a World Heritage Site in part because of it's remarkable biodiversity, which is in jeopardy because of the infestation. In the rest of Australia, 1/8 of it's mammalian species have become extinct since Austin introduced the bunny. Hopefully something can be done before Macquarie Island is similarly devastated.
There are an estimated 300 million wild rabbits in Australia and there are an estimated 30 million starving people in China. With a complete disregard to the impracticability of the idea, I suggest these bunnies should be exported as food to rural China.
Recently China has faced intense international scrutiny under the Olympic spotlight. It has been under great pressure to improve the human rights and quality of life of it's people, particularly those in rural areas. Admirably, the government has taken the initiative to focus on developing agriculture and the sustainability of their population. China has a long way to come indeed, but there are promising signs that their government is 'working on it'. Exporting the bunnies could benefit the hungry, improve the international reputation of China and alleviate the pressure on Australia's environment. In short, bunnies could improve China's socio-economic role in today's society.
P.S. I have tried bunny and can attest to it's deliciousness. Imagine what the Chinese could do.
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5 comments:
I am satisfied. hahaha. well played
Genius.
China really steams my buns. The human rights situation is a total nightmare. Given China's strong economic position, the Olympics is the only real chance we have to put on the pressure. Bunnies could only make the situation better.
I did totally disregard the existence of 'rabbit starvation', but whatev's . . it burned up a few minutes of your day :)
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