The island where rabbits are animals of play, not prey

Ōkunoshima is a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan, which played a key role during World War II as a poison gas factory. It is often called Usagi Shima or “Rabbit Island”, because of the numerous feral rabbits that roam there.

Many of them are thought to be descended from rabbits released intentionally by schoolchildren when the island was developed as a park after World War II.

During the war, rabbits were also used in the chemical munitions plant to test the effectiveness of the chemical weapons, but those were killed when the factory was demolished and are not related to the rabbits currently on the island.

Given that hunting the rabbits is forbidden, and dogs and cats are not allowed on the island, the bunnies are free to approach visitors without fear and to multiply.

View the original video here.

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