Donate to save Toby the rabbit-Unproven! Probable Hoax!

Donate to Save Toby the Rabbit's Life-Unproven! Suspected Hoax!

Summary of the eRumor
Radio, TV reports, and emails about www.savetoby.com, a site that says a bunny is going to be killed on June 30, 2005 unless $50,000 is raised.

The Truth
At this writing, the site is real.
It was posted in March, 2005, and tells the unlikely story that the operator of the site found the injured bunny several months earlier under a porch, nursed it back to health, and decided to eat it unless enough people donate rescue funds or buy merchandise such as t-shirts.
The site keeps track of how much money has been raised, but there's no way of knowing whether the figures are authentic.
NBC's George Lewis says two college students on the east coast told him that they're serious about eating the rabbit.
They wanted to remain anonymous.
It's not clear whether any laws are being broken.
Animal cruelty?
Extortion?
The web provider who hosts the site says it's not illegal to eat a rabbit so they're not taking it down.

It's not hard to suspect it's a hoax.
There is a page with recipes like Toby stew Toby Con Fit.
Also, the students told NBC that when this is all over they plan to publish comments about animal rights activists "and why we think they're nuts."

Last updated 4/12/05

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

I saw a web page "Save Toby.Com." They want $50,000.00 donated by 6/30/05, or they will kill a pet rabbit Toby and eat him, "supposedly they've gotten $24,500.00.
It this real?