British police are seeking thieves who bagged the world’s largest rabbit named Darius from his owner’s garden.
West Mercia Police said they were appealing for information after the brown-and-white bunny disappeared on Saturday night from his pen in Stoulton in central England.
Darius, a Continental Giant rabbit, was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest-living rabbit in 2010, measuring a whopping 4ft 3 inches (129 centimetres) in length.
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His owner, Annette Edwards, tweeted Sunday that it was “a very sad day” and offered a £1,000 reward for his safe return.
“Darius is too old to breed now. So please bring him back,” she said.
A very sad day. Guinness world record Darius has been stolen from his home. The police are doing there best to find out who has taken him. There is a reward of a £1,000. Darius is to old to breed now. So please bring him back.
— Annette Edwards (@maycats56) April 11, 2021
Edwards announced in 2018 that Darius, then eight years old, was retiring and giving up public events and media appearances for a quieter life at home.
In a previous tragedy for the owner, Darius’s three-foot-long (90-centimetre) son Simon died on a cross-Atlantic flight in 2010 as he was being transported to a new owner. He had been expected to eventually outgrow his father.