#save toby

In 2005, the ‘Save Toby’ website was launched on which it was claimed that Toby, a cute little rabbit, was being held for ransom. Unless visitors donated a certain sum of money, Toby would die. According to the site’s author: 'I am going to take Toby to a butcher to have him slaughter this cute bunny. I will then prepare Toby for a midsummer feast.’ The website included pictures of Toby on a chopping board and in a saucepan, along with an updated diary of Toby’s activities. What started as a bad taste joke gained global media attention and soon people sent money to save Toby or buy mugs, T shirts and a book sold through Amazon.com. Eventually Toby was saved. Meanwhile, rabbits remain widely available from butchers and restaurants in many countries. The 'Save Toby’ campaign exposed the contradictions inherent in meat consumption, particularly when some animals are socially constructed as pets, often with human-like attributes. The line between 'normality’ and taboo foods is often fragile - never more so than when it concerns eating animals.