This rabbit was supplied by the London School of Taxidermy (which seems to no longer exist) and apparently complies to their their ‘ethical’ supply of animals.
The box of rabbits arrived I had left the room for a break. My fellow delegates had taken the fluffy ornamental ones. I was left with this strange-looking fellow. These were bred for food for zoo animals or similar. These rabbits were not killed humanely as far as I could see.
I would never attend the school again.
I stuffed this rabbit when I was at the beginning of my journey and he didn’t get his surroundings until much later. When I saw the poor creature I immediately thought of archetypal rabbit imagery which he didn’t really conform to; Bugs Bunny, Easter Bunnies, Rabbits in magician’s hats – then lab rabbits, bred for experiments. I thought of the hypocrisy of it all and I decided to look at the Hippocratic Oath. It is interesting to make a connection between the ethics of medicine and the place these animals fit within it.
The Hippocratic Oath has been written and reduced over the centuries. I despair at how animals and humans are treated as a result of medical professionals being under the thumbs of this oath and the pharmaceutical companies. It’s all a mess which doesn’t look set to be resolved any time soon. When money is at the heart of everything, the heart seems to disappear.
I think of the likes of Monsanto. The postcode lottery people face when they seek treatment. The terrible state our lives often become when we reach the end. When compassion seems to go out of the window and the medical profession keeps us alive no matter what while the pharmaceuticals profit from our misery.
Like a clown preacher standing on his antique bible, holding his wilting hearts surrounded by death and a scavenging hornet, he is a reminder of the crazy system of ‘health’ and ‘care’ we have created.
Gallery
hypocratic-rabbit
Hypocratic Rabbit
Hippocratic Rabbit
Hippocratic Rabbit in his dome
Close up of Hypocratic Rabbit
