The Bunologist May09

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May 2009 • • • • • • • •

Rabbits: Their part in my downfall – Pt 14 Restaurants & rabbits RSPCA rabbit rescue update The importance of a positive meeting Vision & your bunny Unusual buddies Dear Diary Clarence the SUPER Spy & the Unknown Enemy

Wild Rabbits at Risk 10 April 2009 – Scientific American (US)

Study Shows Pet Rabbit Dental Health in Trouble - 23 April 2009 (UK) http://www.pethealthcare.co.uk/News/rabbits_in_crisis_181

A study by the British veterinary charity PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) has shown that over the last five years the number of dental procedures carried out on rabbits at its PetAid hospitals has almost quadrupled. Over the same period, the number of rabbits seen increased by just 35%. Most of the dental disease seen in rabbits is attributed to their poor diet. 'Despite being the UK's third most popular pet, with an estimated 1.6 million currently kept, the welfare needs of domestic rabbits are widely misunderstood by their owners,' said PDSA Senior Veterinary Surgeon Sean Wensley. 'Hundreds of thousands of rabbits face an unhappy, lonely existence in cramped accommodation, whilst being fed an inappropriate diet and suffering from a range of painful diseases. We should re-evaluate the ways in which we have traditionally kept pet rabbits and start providing them with what we know they need to lead healthy and happy lives.' This is why rabbit mixes & pelleted diets are not suitable! HAY should make up 80% of your bunny’s diet to ensure good dental health. (BOING)

Our pets at the peak for choc shocks April 2009 – Monash Leader Newspaper Monash topped Melbourne for the number of accidental chocolate Easter poisonings of pets.

Pygmy Rabbit In a very eye-opening slide show, Scientific American revealed that 30% of the world’s rabbit species are at risk. The slide show profiled six species of wild rabbit and one species of hare in danger of extinction in their native habitats. Included are the European rabbit, Amami rabbit, hispid hare, lower keys marsh rabbit, New England cottontail, volcano rabbit, and pygmy rabbit. To view the slideshow, click here – http://www.sciam.com/slideshow.cfm?id=bunnies-rabbits-riskendangered-easter

More Bunny Booms April 2009 Two more rabbit booms are making headlines:

The Animal Emergency Centre in Mt Waverley treated 22 dogs after the pooches raided their owners’ Easter egg stash – a common and dangerous mistake for canines, cats, rabbits, ferrets, birds and other pets. Senior veterinarian Dr Rachel Peacock said chocolate for humans had the toxic stimulant theobromine, and pets eating it could become hyperactive, vomit, suffer diarrhoea, and drink and urinate a lot. “Hyperactivity may progress to seizures. Most deaths are caused by paralysis of the heart and respiratory muscles,” Dr Peacock said. “Signs of toxicity are dependent on the size of your pet and the type of chocolate they have eaten. Smaller pets are more vulnerable to toxicity. Cooking chocolate contains the highest amounts of theobromine, followed by dark chocolate and then milk chocolate.” Rabbits are unable to vomit and their small size makes them very vulnerable to chocolate toxicity. Always keep chocolate far away from your bunny! (BOING)

Okaloosa Island, Florida, USA – Pet bunnies dumped. Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia - a group of rabbits, former pets that were dumped, are taking over the grassy area under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Feral rabbit population booms in cities have become increasingly common, as seen in many cities like Kelowna/Vancouver/Richmond (Canada), Helsinki and more. Unwanted domestic rabbits set “free” face a short life due to predators, starvation, injury & illness. In cities, humans are the biggest threat, placing poisons & traps to destroy unwanted rabbits (BOING)

Rabbits: Their part in my downfall – Part 14 By Nimal

Tinkerbelle (the box bunny) Adopted February 2008 As part of her continuing efforts to improve the lives of bunnies, Karen had done a few newspaper and magazine interviews. This was all very well until it became apparent that people who had read these articles were able to track us down and find us! The full implications of this situation hit us one morning when we found a cardboard box on the footpath outside our front gate. There was a note on top of the box, in a child’s handwriting, reading: “Dear Karen, please look after Minty for us, Caitlin & James”. Inside the box was a very frightened little Himalayan bunny. Karen and I looked at each other, aghast. No doubt Karen’s main concern was for the welfare of the animal, but I have to admit that my mind was also wondering how many more bunnies were going to be dumped on us following Karen’s media exploits! Meanwhile, Karen was fuming. She promptly wrote a note of her own, berating the parents of the children for their irresponsible actions. She pinned the note to our gate in case the perpetrators returned to the scene, which seemed unlikely. So it was that another abandoned rabbit joined the ranks of the BOING bunnies. Once she had recovered from the trauma of having been dumped in a box, “Minty” proved to be quite feisty and Karen had soon declared her a certified “nutcase”. Desexing calmed the new bunny down somewhat and we also renamed her so that she wouldn’t bear the moniker bestowed by the pathetic losers who had abandoned her. Karen came up with the name “Tinkerbelle”, which I secretly thought was possibly even worse than “Minty”! The next step in Tinkerbelle’s rehabilitation was to find her a friend. Pumpkin (who had just lost his girlfriend, Annabelle) was volunteered to fulfill this function, being both affable and available. We set them up in our laundry, separated by a barrier through which they could see and smell each other. Our plan was to allow them to get to know each other over a couple of weeks and then introduce them under supervised conditions. However, the bunnies had other ideas and took matters into their own paws. We arrived home one day to find that the barrier had been thrust aside, such was the eagerness of the pair to get together - although judging by the scab forming on Tinkerbelle’s nose, Pumpkin’s first act in the relationship had been to bite her!

The new couple settled in together and everything seemed to be going very well until one day an undignified scuffle broke out, probably provoked by Princess goading them from under a door. We were quite shocked to find Pumpkin and Tinkerbelle fighting, as they had seemed a perfect twosome. We settled them down, gave them both a stern talking to and everything returned to normal. All was well until some time later, when another squabble occurred. This time we felt we had to separate the fractious couple for their own good. What followed was an on-again offagain relationship to rival anything from the gossip magazines. They broke up, got back together, broke up again – we completely lost track of what Brad, Jennifer and Angelina were up to, as Pumpkin and Tinkerbelle’s domestic dramas seemed far more newsworthy! Eventually we worked out that the difficulties in this stormy relationship were indeed related to issues of jealousy and provocation from other bunnies. Whenever anyone else got too close to them, it was on for young and old! Since they seemed unable to cope with the proximity of any rival, we moved the difficult duo out of the house and sent them to the privacy of our backyard studio, a secluded love-nest free from outside distractions, and there they were able to live happily together. One does wonder if Jen had shown the good sense to move into our studio with Brad, whether they might still be happily married! While Karen soon tempered her initial diagnosis of Tinkerbelle as a “nutcase”, it was true to say that this bunny had a bit more attitude than most other Himalayans we have known, who have for the most part been delicate, shy little dears. For instance, Tinkerbelle could be very possessive about certain things and quite forcibly so. I discovered this to my cost when she took over a day bed that we had set up in our living room. The day bed was intended to be a spot where I could lounge about idly on weekends, reading the paper and eating nuts, all from a reclining position so as to minimise the risk of unduly exerting myself. However, Tinkerbelle had other ideas. She soon took possession of the day bed, which she clearly regarded as her personal property to be defended with furious zeal! Pumpkin was chased away smartly if he dared venture onto it and eventually my own attempts to stretch out were rebuffed as Tinkerbelle nipped and dug mercilessly at me until I was forced to give way! Later, Tinkerbelle and Pumpkin were moved to the studio. The floor of this building had only been partially constructed and there was a section that had not been concreted. Finding this area much to her liking, Tinkerbelle promptly began excavating a substantial hole (this was the inspiration for the escape tunnel used by the bunnies in James Robertson’s story Clarence the Super-Spy and his School Friends – see January’s Bunologist). Again, this was Tinkerbelle’s personal project and she took a very dim view of any interference. Pumpkin was not permitted anywhere near the diggings, which we eventually had to cover with paving stones in order to prevent the other end of the tunnel from emerging somewhere in outer Mongolia! And they lived happily ever after (touch wood!)

Restaurants & rabbits

RSPCA rescue update

by Karen I can’t speak for all bunny lovers, but I personally become enraged when I see rabbit on a restaurant menu or promoted as food in magazines. The Age’s Melbourne Magazine has been a frequent rabbit abuser when it comes to recipes & promotion. Yet again, the April issue of the magazine printed another recipe from a second offender – The Melbourne Wine Room. I had sent a letter when the last recipe was published. I tried to be nice. I tried to be educational. They obviously don’t pay attention or change their ways! This time I have changed my tune to outright annoyed.

Nicky Riemer Melbourne Wine Room The George Hotel 125 Fitzroy Street ST KILDA VIC 3182 RE:

MELBOURNE MAGAZINE RECIPE PAGES

Dear Nicky I’m not sure why chefs continue to think that rabbit is some sort of “gourmet” food they continually trudge out to their dimwitted patrons. The whole rabbit issue is a sensitive area when it comes to the community. Wild rabbits are introduced, yet domestic rabbits are loving & affectionate family pets. As wild rabbits are considered an introduced pest, the vast majority of ill-informed patrons assume it’s okay to eat rabbit. Stupidly, restaurant patrons & chefs pay no attention to the fact that wild rabbit is rarely served as food in restaurants. However, domestic pet rabbits are the ones that are treated inhumanely in factory farms & slaughtered for the table. As a pet rabbit owner, I am horrified to see my pets continually served up on a menu & refuse to accept slaughter of any pets as a food source. Of course I will not be patronising your restaurant, as I do not visit any establishment that serves my pets as food. I also return the enclosed pages from the Melbourne magazine as I do not want them anywhere near my home. Once you start serving up cats & dogs on your menu, I shall acknowledge the community’s need to eat common pets. “Ooh yes….. I’ll have the cat-cciatore please. Oh, no wait…. I’ll have the roast Labrador instead. However, the braised budgie does sound delicious!” Mmmmm Yours sincerely

We published the transcript of the RSPCA rescue show that featured a story about a man keeping over 40 rabbits that he slaughtered for food on his suburban property in Melbourne. The story was horrendous enough but the follow up of the story (from an anonymous source) confirmed that all but two baby bunnies were euthanased when taken to the RSPCA shelter. The two baby bunnies that were saved were kept for television purposes so that viewers would assume that most would have been put up for adoption. Sadly, too many rabbits face euthanasia at shelters for no other reason than there are too many to rehome. We know how difficult it can be to find homes for unwanted rabbits, however it is still a very disappointing outcome for so many bunnies that never had a second chance to feel love & affection at any time in their lives.

RSPCA Rehoming This month the RSPCA contacted me asking about how BOING assesses the personalities of rabbits that come to us. Possibly the TV show & a few recent negative truths about rabbit rehoming at the RSPCA have now encouraged the organisation to take rabbits seriously. The enquiry was directed towards establishing how the RSPCA can assess the personality & character of rabbits that come into the shelter. Unfortunately, any bunnies that come into a shelter will be frightened, anxious & stressed and you cannot assess the personality of a rabbit under these circumstances. I mentioned to the staff member that I would never assess a rabbit’s personality until they had been desexed. Desexing calms rabbits and ensures they will not be fired up with hormones. I mentioned that rabbits need time to adjust to their environment. A rabbit’s real personality will not emerge until they feel safe & secure, so you cannot judge a rabbit’s behaviour from the moment they arrive. I also mentioned that the RSPCA should think about aiming rabbit adoptions to more mature clients in order to break the stereotype that rabbits are pets only for children.

I found these articles on the rabbit advocate web blog. For anyone interested in bunny care, there are some great articles to read here -

http://therabbitadvocate.blogspot.com/

The Importance of a Positive Meeting Initial interactions are crucial in establishing a rapport with your house rabbit or a bunny you're meeting for the first time. Because many people instinctively approach a rabbit as they would a cat or a dog--by placing a hand right in front of their noses for them to sniff--they are getting started off on the wrong foot, er, paw. As polite of an animal introduction as this would seem, rabbits are actually offended by this gesture, mostly due to their limited vision in front of their faces. Such offensive gestures often elicit fearful or aggressive responses, which leads the human to dismiss the rabbit as unfriendly, jumpy, or a bad pet. Instead, try coming down from the top and petting her forehead or scratching behind the ears. Or, you can even do as the rabbits do, and get down on their level and touch noses. With only your head in their field of vision, you suddenly don't seem so large and intimidating. The differences between interacting with dogs/cats and rabbits don't stop there. While most dogs and cats love belly rubs, the stomach area is an exceptionally sensitive area for rabbits and very much off-limits. This makes sense considering as prey animals they must fiercely protect such vulnerable areas, whereas predatory pets--like cats, dogs, or even ferrets --might not be so sensitive about vital areas. Rabbits also prefer not to be touched on their paws, chin, chest, sides, tail, and genital region. But this is not to say that rabbits don't love being petted; they very much do! Spots that are just about universally enjoyed by rabbits include the top of her head, cheeks, ears, neck, shoulders, and back, though of course every rabbit is different. Try a nice relaxing massage for your bunny: move your hand slowly, with the an open palm, from the nose, over the forehead, over the ears and neck, and all the way down to the lower back, applying the slightest bit of pressure. Continue down both sides of the spine gently, but without applying direct pressure on the backbone, and note which spots she seems to particularly enjoy and which seem to be less than pleasant (if she stiffens). Repeat over the areas she seems to like. Most rabbits will flatten down, close their eyes, and even grind their teeth in ecstasy. Positive interactions can set the tone for how a rabbit views you--whether she learns to trust you or avoid you. Conversely, it can also affect how a person will view a rabbit, or even rabbits as a species. A miscommunication during introductions can lead a human to fear rabbits or view them as unpredictable or aggressive creatures. And we, as devoted rabbit owners, know just how inaccurate this assessment can be, as long as we learn to communicate with them on their own terms and in their own language.

Vision & your bunny How you approach a rabbit is more important than you might think. As we all know, rabbits are prey animals and this fact should guide you as you interact with your bunny. Accordingly, if your rabbit is relatively skittish, don't walk up to her too quickly. A big, dark object quickly coming at a bunny can be quite scary! Instead sit down on the floor (or get even smaller and lay down) and your curious rabbit will approach you. This is a much less threatening way to interact with your pet and leads to a stronger, more trusting bond. Another thing to keep in mind is eyesight. Rabbits' eyes are located on the side of their heads, (evolutionarily, for a higher range of sight, to escape those predators!) so naturally they cannot see well right in front of them. You may have noticed your bunny tilting her head to the side when trying to see something in front of her; this is to compensate this blind spot. It's important to be aware of this challenge in visibility, so you don't scare your bunny by coming at her from the front. Rabbits can even react aggressively if they can't make out exactly what is in front of them, so teaching your children about this blind spot can help avoid an accidental scratch (or bite!). The best advice on approach is to move slowly, make yourself seem small, and to encourage your rabbit come to you instead of the other way around.

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Unusual buddies William & Charles 28 April 2009 – Devon (UK) http://newslite.tv/2009/04/28/miniature-pig-and-giant-rabbit.html

Jasmine the surrogate mum http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1103645/Meet-Jasmine-rescuedog-surrogate-mother-50th-time.html

When Jasmine the abandoned greyhound arrived at a wildlife sanctuary shivering and desperate for food, she needed all the love in the world to nurse her back to full health. Now it appears the kindness and patience shown to her has rubbed off - for the rescue dog has become a surrogate mother for the 50th time. Seven-year-old Jasmine is currently caring for tiny Bramble, an 11-week-old roe deer fawn found semi-conscious in a nearby field.

A miniature pig called William has found an unusual friend in a giant white rabbit called Charles. The pair have become best buddies at Pennywell Farm in Devon and spend most of their time together. Bosses at the farm attraction say the friendship developed after ten-week-old William was moved into a pen next to the rabbits. He instantly took a shine to floppy-eared Charles - who is double his size - and now whenever they are let out, he follows him around. Chris Murray of Pennywell Farm said: "To keep William the miniature pig happy, he is given time out on the grass. "When they are out Charles heads for a quiet spot in the sun and William seeks him out and tries to play with him. "The cheeky piglet seems to have no fear of something so much bigger than he is and he will also help himself to any food that Charles has. "William is far keener on the friendship than Charles but Charles is tolerant, even when his food gets taken" William will eventually grow to the size of a springer spaniel which, while small for a pig, is two or three times the size of Charles.

You swine! That carrot was mine!

She cuddles up to her to keep her warm, showers her with affection and makes sure nothing is matted in her fur. In short, the perfect foster mum. But then again, she has had plenty of practice, having cared for 5 fox cubs, 4 badger cubs, 15 chicks, 8 guinea pigs, 2 stray puppies and even 15 rabbits. Jasmine was brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary by the police in 2003, having been found dumped in a garden shed. She was cold, filthy and malnourished. It took a few weeks for her to fully trust staff at the centre but with tender loving care she was nursed back to full fitness. Five years on, Jasmine is now the one looking after stray waifs. Geoff Grewcock, who runs the sanctuary, said: 'She simply dotes on the animals as if they were her on, it's incredible to see. 'She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings. 'As soon as an animal is brought in, she walks over takes a sniff or two and then licks and cuddles them.

Jasmine with another one of her 'babies'. She has cared for 15 rabbits in total

Dear Diary By Karen Gee, where do I start?? This month has been quite traumatic & very sad. After publishing the story about our Sarah bunny in our last issue, she very sadly passed away on Easter Monday. We will miss her very much as she was such a beautiful natured bunny who we all adored. Worse still, we were just getting over the sudden loss of our Sarah bunny when one of our boarder buns became very ill. She wasn’t eating & looked uncomfortable. I cared for her as best I could – syringe feeding her every two hours overnight with critical care & water. I had felt unusual swollen lumps near her ribs but was hoping they were not serious. Unfortunately, I had a suspicion that all was not well. She was rushed to the emergency vet the next morning for treatment. X-rays revealed she had uterine cancer & it had spread. We were devastated & her human friend (who was still away on a trip overseas) was heart broken. Sadly, Michelle had to make the decision to let Bobbi the bunny go peacefully. Bobbi was only four years old. So, life at The Do Hop Inn has been very emotional this month. Peanut was devastated losing his true love Sarah. We moved him back next to his old friend Stuart so he would have someone familiar nearby. Over the next few weeks we reintroduced the boys in the lounge room to see if they remembered each other. Stuart (who has never been interested in any other bunny we’ve introduced him to since Peanut) remembered his old chum straight away. I shed a little tear watching the two buns reunite and snuggle. It was really lovely (apart from both boys spraying each other in the face a couple of times – hey, shows they like each other!). They’re both back together in the kitchen and we hope that they stay happy together for a long, long time.

Talking about Princess, she has had terrible toileting problems lately. Not wet & sticky, but instead her poos have been very dry, dark and stuck together with fur. Princess is a big fan of hay so we haven’t a problem with fibre. I’ve tried various things to assist with her ingested fur problem by grooming her, giving her extra wet veggies to eat, giving her more green grass & dandelions and even trying Oxbow papaya tablets.

I know many people swear by papaya tablets but I didn’t see any improvement. I did, however, see an improvement in her poo production when I started serving Princess a soupy bowl of Oxbow critical care each evening before she went to bed. This seems to have made a big difference in her rehydration & production of bigger single poos again.

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Finding love again…Stuart (left) snuggles with Peanut Now, talking about Stuart. He has started to develop a small round opaque circle on his left eye. So, off to the vet again soon!! Another bunny that needs a checkup soon is Princess. I wish that one tooth removed meant it was the end of Princess’s dental problems. However, she needs x-rays now to check her back molars and there is a chance she now has another abscess on the other side of her jaw (another lump).

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Clarence the SUPER-SPY

Sunshine had put her lace hat in her pocket before they’d departed. Ally had fainted again! Third time! *

and the Unknown Enemy (part 2) By James Robertson The bright moon shone onto Clarence’s shimmering fur. He was munching on some salvaged carrots from the plane wreckage. He was lying on the beach with his companions and Queen Sunshine III. They’d been awake all night and now it was around three o’clock in the morning (they didn’t have a watch). The Big Speech was in seven hours and the plane had been smashed into tiny pieces. No hope at all. *Spy-Notes: The Big Speech has been going on for seventeen years. The big speech gives every company a large amount of money on the day. It happens every ten years. The last Big Speech was in 1999, which was stationed in Germany. The one before it was in 1989, which was stationed in Brazil. They were all miserable, especially Clarence. ‘Hey guys, I’ll go and see if I can salvage anything else,’ he said. He lifted himself from the sand and started walking over to the dense jungle. He crawled through the lush, green bushes, coming closer to where he thought the wreckage was. When he came into the clearing he noticed he wasn’t in the same spot where the wreckage was meant to be. He only saw huge coconut trees rising into the sky, long tall grass and a Mr. Beaver bounty hunter Sky Skier…… Wait a minute! Clarence scampered over to the thin bike machine and saw that it was in one piece. Hope filled his heart. He dragged the machine all the way back to the beach, to show to his friends. Hope was flaring. Clarence knew just what to do with the machine. They discussed his plan. And it worked. He had another idea for the machine and he had to do it before the Big Speech. They’d used the orange life boat (that had saved their lives) for the plan. Bunneary, James and Kitty helped Clarence take apart the Sky Skier. Ally, Pancake and Chief Guinea pig were shoving all the salvaged equipment, food and clothing into the life boat. But Queen Sunshine just sat back and watched lazily. After what seemed like an hour the life boat was loaded up and they were all ready. Every piece of salvaged item was loaded in the small inflatable boat, with the miniature engine attached to the back (from the Sky Skier).

Alleluia! They’d finally gotten to Beijing. And only two hours to spare, until the big speech. Ally had regained consciousness again and they’d dropped the queen off at the Beijing stadium. She’d thanked them very, very, very, very, very, very, very sincerely. ‘So, what’s gonna happen now?’ asked Bunneary. ‘Do we go home or stay for the big speech?’ Clarence shook his black head, his ears flapping. ‘I forgot to tell you that when I was taking the Sky Skier apart I found a bit of Mr. Beaver information,’ he said conversationally. ‘It’s the location of Mr. Beaver’s main base.’ They all stared at him in bewilderment. Clarence pulled out a little, wiry device and started pressing the glowing buttons. ‘I want to give Mr. Beaver a piece of my mind.’ ‘Me too!’ * They’d collected a new Chinese spy plane and flew to the west side of China immediately. As usual, Clarence was the professional pilot, Chief Guinea pig the co pilot in training and Pancake was again the beautiful stewardess (pictured above). They were headed for a place in the Takla Makan Desert called the Canyon of No Return. It sounds very scary and it was. They smoothly landed the ship at the very bottom of the deep canyon. They all clambered out, with many gadgets and weapons in their paws. Musky air wiped their faces as they raced through the canyon’s dusty trench, leaving the ship behind. Pancake was holding Ally steadily. Clarence walking determinedly with Kitty and Chief Guinea pig following his example. Bunneary was lolly gagging around with a butterfly. James stood above the rest. The wiry device Clarence was wielding was flashing harder: they were getting closer. They came to a huge brick wall on the side of the canyon. Many cryptic signs were put up, they said things like: KEEP OUT! GO AWAY! They all aimed their weapons at the wall and blasted it to pieces, just like Mr. Beaver’s bounty hunters had done to their ship. They ran through the wide hole and down a pipe lined tunnel. To Pancake it smelt like rotten bunny mix, engine fuel and dinosaur droppings. But to Bunneary it smelt of roses, salt licks and daisy juice.

The six super spies and the queen squished into the cramped boat. James pushed the heavy boat into the shallow water. He jumped in before it was too late.

They came into a large, painted room with many controls and buttons, piles of chocolate wrappers and one huge TV screen. The one and only Mr. Beaver was sitting in the middle of the room, his eyes glued to the TV and munching on the chocolate bars. He was watching the big speech on the TV, getting close to the part when Queen Sunshine III comes on stage.

Clarence pulled at the engine’s long lever. It started chugging off. VRRROOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!

‘Ok guys, we have to get his attention, without making him cranky,’ whispered Clarence.

The boat zoomed off into the open water. Their dark surroundings were a blur to them.

But Pancake, Kitty and Bunneary were already off. Tip toeing toward Mr. Beaver. Actually they were going to the desk top behind him. Bunneary grabbed the TV remote and pressed the OFF button.

The angry face of Mr. Beaver turned around and glared at them. He rose up from the huge pile of empty chocolate wrappers. He looked much bigger than they’d imagined, with his eyes blood shot under the black glasses and his large teeth chocolate stained.

‘Don’t take another step forward,’ Pancake pulled out a yellow coloured weapon. ‘Because I have a banana!’ She held out the banana threateningly at the bounty hunters. They cackled with laughter. They thought it was a joke. So did I. ‘Yeah, but this is a weapon.’ She squeezed the banana and it shot out a yellow laser blast that bounced back the bounty hunters.

‘What in the name of Mr. Beaver Industries are you doing here, Clarence!’ he blustered. ‘No one and I mean no one; especially you are not s’pose to come to my base.’

Clarence was alert! But not alert enough. The shampoo squeezer (the machine that puts all the shampoo into the containers) hit Clarence with a gush of shampoo that sent him into the arms of James. Oh no, Clarence was squeaky clear! So clean that he slipped out onto the floor and bounced, smashed into the shampoo deposit, thus clogging it up.

Pancake, Chief Guinea pig, Bunneary, Kitty and Ally hid behind James and Clarence’s legs. ‘We meet again Mr. Beaver,’ said Clarence. ‘We have all come here to give you a piece of our minds.’ Mr. Beaver gave a sly grin. ‘I can still remember when you left me stranded in the Atlantic Ocean,’ he muttered. ‘I’m still plotting revenge on you.’ *Spy-Notes: Clarence has met Mr. Beaver in person two times before. The first time he tried to steal Clarence’s brain. The other time was when he blew up Mr. Beaver’s great experiment, which would change the world in a bad way. Clarence scratched his ear. ‘Yeah, but as I was saying we came to ask you why you sent some of your bounty hunters to ruin our escort?’ he said. ‘I mean why would you want the Big Speech to be delayed, your Mr. Beaver Industries would get some money from it?’ Mr. Beaver stared at them blankly. ‘I never sent any of my bounty hunters to ruin your escort,’ he said in a confused tone. ‘You’re right, why would I stop the Big Speech?’ Clarence looked around his teammates for ideas, but they didn’t need any ideas. The bounty hunters were in the doorway. ‘You got that right, we stopped the escort on our own accord,’ said one of the bounty hunters slyly. ‘And now we will destroy you and these pathetic Super Spies.’

‘Sweet’.

Sparks were flying in the air, smoke buffing out of the machine. BOOOOM!!!! The whole factory area of Mr. Beaver’s base was blown up sky high, sending sand into the air. And the bounty hunters were still coming to capture them. Fast! But, Ally wouldn’t allow that. Nearly blinded by the flying sand he pulled out a bottle of glue and poured it into the shampoo squeezer, aimed it at the evil hunters and shot a whole gloop of sticky shampoo at them, which stopped the hunters dead in their tracks. * Peace at last. After Clarence had rounded the bounty hunters up to jail, he and the rest of the team flew back to Beijing to celebrate Easter and a good mission clear. Mr. Beaver was invited - it looked like there was an alliance between Clarence and Mr. Beaver. Only for the day. They’d had an Easter party with A LOT of chocolate eggs at the VIP room at the crowded Beijing Stadium. Queen Sunshine was partying with them. And Peanut and Sarah were there too. Apparently they were on their fifty eighth honeymoon. Pancake had coated her body with maple syrup: Kitty thought it was needed. Kitty was just brooding around coolly. Bunneary had gone crazy again, this time from eating too much chocolate. Peanut followed his example and started going mad too. ‘Doooooooiiilllllaaaa huggggi four snoooow booolll!’ ‘Aghh! Get away Bunneary!’ (pictured left)

‘Mutiny!’ ‘Pathetic!?’ ‘Attack!!!!’

He charged down the room and gave Chief Guinea pig a spine-smashing hug of unfriendly proportions, again.

Before any of them could blast the bounty hunters, the ceiling had magnetised all their weapons and gadgets onto a huge magnetic plate. ‘Run!!!!!!!!!!!’

‘Dooooooiiiillllaa huggggggii four sarrrrrrrie!’ They (including Mr. Beaver) ran past the bounty hunters and through the pipe lined tunnel. The hunters shot Net Blasters at them, but James karate chopped them away. They ran into the huge factory area with the many conveyor belts and levers. They jumped onto the nearest conveyor belt and ran down to the shampoo deposit, the bounty hunters hot on their heels. The empty shampoo containers came sliding toward them, they all jumped out of the way of the incoming containers…. except Pancake and James, who’d got tripped over and fell off the conveyor belt. Two other bounty hunters jumped off on cue, holding up the Net Blasters threateningly.

He ran over and hugged the reflection of Sarah until the mirror broke. They partied for some time. And Clarence, James, Kitty, Chief Guinea pig, Bunneary, Ally, Pancake, Peanut, Sarah, the Queen and Mr. Beaver had a very happy ending.

The End!

We dedicate this month’s newsletter to our beautiful Sarah the chocolate bunny! You were not with us long enough & we will all sadly miss you. Love Karen, Nimal & Peanut & all the BOING bunnies xxxx