The innocent European rabbit, makes a mess

Oryctolagus cuniculus, the innocent European rabbit, makes a mess. When following the rabbit, disciplinary highways and mechanistic reasoning are of no use. It requires persistence to follow the rabbit into its burrows that branch out rhizomatically and unpredictably. The singularity of different modes of existence make any encounter with other interests, foxes, or other species of fleas or rabbits intense. Proliferations that are said to be “natural” are in fact processes of invention intricately entangled with human social worlds. Techniques, science, and rumors exacerbate these proliferations. The latter often bring about disproportionate and ineffective responses. The sympathy that the gentle European rabbit evokes has (mis)placed it as a human friend. But this is a friendship whose consequences can become calamitous. When studying this apparently insignificant species, we came across matters of huge concern and entanglement. Matters that are translations of contemporary “swear words” such as GMO, invasive species, biological control, bioterrorism, and species reintroduction. By following the forced migration of the bunny, nature is unveiled as a real battlefield. Yet we feel that these rabbit stories can only be relayed modestly. These brief stories unfold interdependences and call for urgent forms of reflexive inter-disciplinarity. How does the rabbit oblige us? The perplexity and joy it harnesses are worth reclaiming for both the realm of knowledge and of politics.