In late 2006, Carl Szmolinsky’s prized German Grey Giant rabbit, Robert, won the title of “Germany’s Biggest Rabbit.” Robert weighed in at an impressive 10.5kg and gained some worldwide attention due to his size. This caught the attention of North Korean officials.

Soon after, officials from the North Korean embassy in Germany contacted Szmolinsky and arranged a visit to look at his famed rabbit collection. They were so impressed with the size of these hares that they purchased eight females and four males, including Robert, and shipped them back to Pyongyang.

It has been reported in many media outlets that Pyongyang is planning to establish a breeding programme for these rabbits, which it is hoped will eventually help alleviate North Korea’s food shortages. This followed a request by Pyongyang’s State run news agency in September 2006 that suggested people should breed rabbits for food. Providing he receives a visa, Szmolinsky is supposed to travel to North Korea in the spring. He will be supervising and training staff to get this breeding programme off the ground.

According to Szmolinsky, eight female rabbits should produce between 60-70 offspring each year. So, in theory, North Korea could have a large enough population of German Grey Giants in less than decade to begin using the rabbits as a food crop. Each rabbit should provide around 7 kg. of meat, enough to feed more than one family.

If it is true that North Korea plans on turning these rabbits into a high-volume food source to help feed its 23 million citizens, it will be interesting to see how Pyongyang actually makes it happen.

Many European countries, China, and Indonesia do produce and consume significant amounts of rabbit meat. But no major population on earth uses rabbit meat as a primary food source.

Malta is the worldwide leader in per capita rabbit consumption. And, at present, North Korea is not even one of the world’s major rabbit meat producers.

The problems that North Korea faces setting up this programme are significant. First, how would Pyongyang establish such a large breeding operation? It is doubtful that the government could create the infrastructure needed to make this a viable industry. In order to produce 2,273,000 kg. of rabbit meat annually, North Korea would have to build facilities to house at least one million rabbits. The number and size of housing could be reduced by turning a large portion of the public into “backyard breeders.”

But, leaving this programme in the hands of an underfed populace and small farms is not a viable option. Especially when you consider the eating habits of these giant hares. Each rabbit eats close to one kg. a day of grains and vegetables that could otherwise be consumed by humans. Szmolinsky himself limits the number of rabbits he keeps on-hand because of the cost of feeding them.

Nationwide, a population of 1,000,000 rabbits would be consuming 910,000 kg of food staples daily. Should this rabbit population grow into the millions, it is conceivable that the rabbits would end up eating more potatoes and rice daily that the North Korean population.