# Pay me $50,000.00 or I'll kill and eat this rabbit. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 12, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003 "2005-04-12T18:27:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bitterness\_Comes\_Standard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@Bitterness\_Comes\_Standard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bitterness_Comes_Standard)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/1 "2005-04-12T18:27:41Z")
[http://www.nbc4i.com/feedroomvideo/4370207/detail.html](http://www.nbc4i.com/feedroomvideo/4370207/detail.html) ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/2 "2005-04-12T18:33:44Z")
Snopes debunkathon: > **[Donations To Save Rabbit](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/save-toby/)** > > Is a fellow threatening to eat his pet rabbit unless he receives $50,000 in donations? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/3 "2005-04-12T18:36:13Z")
This made a small splash when it was first started three months ago or so, but for some reason, it’s just now getting out into the news media. I saw it on my local news today, too. ---
**Author:** ![Bitterness\_Comes\_Standard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@Bitterness\_Comes\_Standard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bitterness_Comes_Standard)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/4 "2005-04-12T18:39:17Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > Snopes debunkathon: > > [http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/savetoby.asp](http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/savetoby.asp) Cool. I didn’t know if this was really true or not. Thanks for the link. I knew if there was truth to this someone would know. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/5 "2005-04-12T19:06:17Z")
The deadline in the Snopes article is March 27; the website now reads June 30th. Plus their “this is a joke” disclaimer is gone, and on the news I heard a taped phone interview with one of the guys who runs the website, claiming that it is not a joke at all. Methinks their last effort didn’t pull in enough cash for their liking. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/6 "2005-04-12T19:10:54Z")
I just don’t understand the big frickin’ deal being made about it. That rabbit’s ancestors were bred to be eaten for 200 generations. Knock him out and fricassee him already… ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/7 "2005-04-12T19:23:53Z")
I started a thread in GQ trying to get to the bottom of whether it was a hoax or not. That snopes page does little to convince me that it’s an actual hoax. what I wrote in GQ > [@](#): > > I found an old pit thread about this, but after seeing it on the NBC nightly news last night, I thought I’d resurrect it. > > This guy has a web site that claims he’s going to kill a bunny if he doesn’t get $50,000 from people before June 30th, 2005. > > Snopes says that the web site is fake, but their arguments are less than convincing. To wit, > > 1. One person claimed they saw “this is a joke” on the page one day. > > 2. There once was another ‘save the bunny’ site which was a joke. > > 3. There’s a “save fluffy” site with the same rabbit (although that link is to something different currently). > > 4. The money total is not a counter, but is statically updated > > 5. The fact that we kill a lot of rabbits so people are desensitized to it, indicates this is a hoax. > > How any of that is evidence that this is a hoax is beyond me. > > NBC talked to the guys last night on the news. They didn’t seem convinced it was a hoax. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/8 "2005-04-12T19:25:55Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I just don’t understand the big frickin’ deal being made about it. That rabbit’s ancestors were bred to be eaten for 200 generations. Knock him out and fricassee him already… The “big deal about it” is that it is a big deal. There’s enough people out there who think that if you take a picture of something cuddly and give it a name, all of a sudden it possesses a soul. People have made a buck over less. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/9 "2005-04-12T19:42:28Z")
Pay me a dollar and I will sell you some carrots to cook with it. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/10 "2005-04-12T19:44:36Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > There’s enough people out there who think that if you take a picture of something cuddly and give it a name, all of a sudden it possesses a soul. I beg to differ. Karl Rove in a bunny suit still has no soul. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/11 "2005-04-12T19:55:08Z")
Meh, I couldn’t be mad at the guy, even if I thought it was real and not a stunt. He gave me an excuse, nay, a reason to look at cute bunny pictures. I can’t hate someone for that. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/12 "2005-04-12T20:19:01Z")
Y’know, I’m disappointed in the Boy Scouts of America…I was all ready to link to the requirements for the rabbit-raising merit badge (especially the parts where you sell them for their meat), and found out the BSA wimped out and discontinued the darn thing… ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/13 "2005-04-12T20:20:00Z")
He should have done it with a lamb. Would have had a better reaction. Great way to make a buck. The Internet is a wonderful thing. [waits for people to pay me to _not_ reproduce] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![baronsabato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@baronsabato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baronsabato)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/14 "2005-04-12T20:55:20Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > I started a thread in GQ trying to get to the bottom of whether it was a hoax or not. > > That snopes page does little to convince me that it’s an actual hoax. > > what I wrote in GQ Well, I’m not sure if it’s a hoax or not but [this site](http://reallysavetoby.com/index.html) does a better job of debunking than Snopes. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/15 "2005-04-12T21:17:36Z")
This looks to be a rip-off an earlier, and more clever rabbit-hostage money making scheme. The earlier one featured recipes for, and photos of, Welsh rabbit. I’m not sure what the outcome was, but they seemed to have sizeable donations via paypal. I doubt they ate the hostage, but I’m relatively certain they kept the money. In that respect, it wasn’t really a joke. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/16 "2005-04-12T22:18:39Z")
Just a nitpick. "[Welsh Rabbit" or “Welsh Rarebit”](http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_26813,00.html) contains no rabbit. This reminds me of the old National Lanpoon issue, “Buy This Magazine or We’ll Kill This Dog.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/17 "2005-04-12T23:12:37Z")
> [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > Just a nitpick. "[Welsh Rabbit" or “Welsh Rarebit”](http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_26813,00.html) contains no rabbit. [Did you know the dish got that name because it was supposedly eaten by Welsh who were too poor to buy rabbit meat](http://www.bartleby.com/68/69/6469.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/18 "2005-04-12T23:34:17Z")
When ever I hear people linking the word welsh, with a word origin that means cheap, I get suspicious, no matter what dictionary supports it, ever since[e-logic defended me](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5937811&postcount=11) for using it. I find it far more likely that the recipe comes from some ancient word no one remembers and that amusing story was a cute, easy explination. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/19 "2005-04-12T23:47:28Z")
> [@baronsabato](#): > > Well, I’m not sure if it’s a hoax or not but [this site](http://reallysavetoby.com/index.html) does a better job of debunking than Snopes. Ok… > [@](#): > > The larger, older male departed for the Rainbow Bridge on Christmas Eve of 2004. Does that mean he kicked off? Is that a local expression? ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003/20 "2005-04-13T01:01:01Z")
> [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > Just a nitpick. "[Welsh Rabbit" or “Welsh Rarebit”](http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_26813,00.html) contains no rabbit. Ack. Dumb mistake on my part. It was a different rabbit dish. Here’s the link: [http://www.krohm.net/bernd.htm](http://www.krohm.net/bernd.htm) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-me-50-000-00-or-ill-kill-and-eat-this-rabbit/299003.md?page=2)