Okunoshima is an island in Japan where cute rabbits live

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Japanese island Okunoshima - a real rabbit paradise, there are so many of these funny long-eared animals on the streets that it seems that the cherished one is about to be heard: “Oh, my God, my God! How late I am. Perhaps the only difference between these animals and the Carroll White Rabbit is that they cannot talk, but even so, they feel like full-fledged owners on a small island. By the way, the island itself received a sad glory due to the fact that during the Second World War, top-secret chemical weapons were tested on its territory.

Japan signed the Geneva Protocol on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 1929, but since then the secret production of the strongest pesticides did not stop until the very end of World War II in 1945. Okunoshima, located between the islands of Hiroshima and Shikoku, was an excellent proving ground since it is located far from Tokyo and produced about 6 tons of mustard gas. To prevent the leak of information about the secret facility, the island was not even marked on the maps, and the factory workers did not know what they were producing. After the end of the war, all documents related to the plant were destroyed.

The appearance of rabbits on this island, unfortunately, is also no coincidence: the animals were brought here for experiments, experiments with poisons were performed on them. After the production was "curtailed", people released rabbits, for half a century their population reached 300 individuals, and today they feel very at ease on the island. By the way, the unofficial name of Okunoshima is Usagi Shima, which means "Rabbit Island". Rabbits are accustomed to people, therefore they are always ready to come closer and enjoy the food prepared for them.

Not so long ago, a lot of people began to write about the unique island on the Internet; a hotel has even appeared here, ready to receive visitors who are not indifferent to animals. However, you need to treat your visit to Okunoshima with all responsibility: there is no guarantee that there are no burials of pesticides on the island, in addition, the necessary disinfection measures have never been carried out here. For those who are not afraid to risk their health and take a trip to the "rabbit island", the Poison Gas Museum was opened here in 1998, the exhibits of which demonstrate the harmful effects of pesticides. It is noteworthy that seemingly incomparable things like war and cute rabbits have already become the subject of comprehension in art. About this - the creativity of the Lucky Bunny collective, which in peacetime creates rabbits from a pomegranate.