Venezuela's rabbit drive becomes a pet project

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. Photo / AP

Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan President, has admitted his plan to combat the country's food crisis by encouraging people to breed rabbits for meat has hit an early "setback" after participants in a pilot project started to adopt the animals as pets.

Unveiling "Plan Rabbit", Maduro described it as an "extremely good" initiative to provide an alternative source of animal protein, "because rabbits breed like ... rabbits".

However, the scheme, designed to resist the "economic war" Maduro says is being waged by the "empire", has suffered teething difficulties.

Freddy Bernal, the Minister for Urban Agriculture, had given baby rabbits to 15 communities as part of a trial. Maduro recounted to laughter from assembled ministers: "When he returned, surprise! The people had the bunnies with little bows and they were keeping them as pets."

Bernal blamed a "cultural problem", saying: "A lot of people give names to rabbits, put on a bow, they take the rabbit to sleep in their bed."

But, he said, Venezuelans needed to adjust their attitudes towards rabbits and see them "from the point of view of the economic war".

He added: "We need a publicity campaign so that the people understand that rabbits aren't pets but two-and-a-half kilos of meat."

Henrique Capriles, an opposition leader, said: "You are those responsible for this food crisis. If you can't solve this problem then go once and for all," he said.

A survey this year indicated that 75 per cent of Venezuelans have lost an average of 8.6kg as the country plunges into economic collapse.