Poor Toby!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loverofstories · 04-15-2005, 04:10 PM

'Give me $50,000 or Toby the bunny rabbit is history'
By Louisa Gault
(Filed: 27/03/2005)

Animal lovers around the world have expressed outrage at a website whose owner has threatened to butcher, cook and eat a pet bunny called Toby unless he receives $50,000 (Â£27,000) in donations by the end of June.

The website, SaveToby.com, features photographs of the wheat-coloured, innocent-eyed rabbit and claims that his owner found him injured on the roadside and nursed him back to health.

$50,000 or Toby gets it
It then adds: "Unfortunately, on June 30, 2005, Toby will die. I am going to eat him. I am going to take Toby to a butcher to have him slaughter this cute bunny. I will then prepare Toby for a midsummer feast."

Leaving little to the imagination, there are pages of recipes on the site. Lapin BraisÃ© (take "One Toby cut in serving-sized pieces, flour for dusting with salt and pepper"), Moroccan Hare Tagine ("Ingredients: Toby, olive oil, cinnamon, ginger, saffron") and Toby Confit ("Place Toby's legs together with the sliced garlic and rock salt in a bowl overnight").

The recipes are illustrated with pictures of a startled-looking Toby in a cooking pot surrounded by vegetables, on a chopping board, and on a plate surrounded by lettuce tomatoes and salad.

His owner, who does not give his name, claims: "I don't want to eat Toby, he is my friend, and he has always been the most loving, adorable pet.

"However, God as my witness, I will devour this little guy unless I receive $50,000 into my account from donations or purchase of merchandise."

Among the 90 items on offer at the site are "Save Toby" T-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs.

It is unclear whether Toby's owner is serious about his threat or whether he is simply running a money-making hoax, but the send-money-or-Fluffy-gets-it scheme appears to be working.

Click to enlarge
The site claims to have received almost $20,000 (nearly Â£11,000) since it began a couple of months ago.

Whether it is a hoax or blackmail, animal welfare groups have reacted with outrage, describing the scam as "disturbing and heartless".

The Rabbit Welfare Association, Britain's largest rabbit charity, said that the website was "disturbing" and has appealed to the public not to make donations to such sites.

Rae Todd, the association's spokesman, said: "The best course of action is to do nothing."

The Humane Society of America agreed. "A site like this promotes, glamorises and trivialises animal cruelty, and could influence impressionable people.

"People could look at this site and think, this guy's making a profit - let's do similar things to make money."

A spokesman for the United Kingdom branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said: "Such sites are in very poor taste but, unfortunately, are usually legal.

"Since these heartless people are encouraged by attention, the most effective way to discourage them is to avoid visiting their sites and to urge others to do the same.

"Websites that either depict or suggest cruelty to animals are typically created by people who feel threatened by animal rights or who simply want to get attention."

Although both Peta and the Rabbit Welfare Trust suggested that the scheme could be a hoax, the site's operator, who identified himself as "James" in an interview with The Washington Post, said that he and his business partner were in their twenties and lived on the East Coast of America.

"We've received hundreds of death threats," said "James", who admitted that it was not his real name. Asked if he was going to eat Toby, he replied: "There's no doubt about it."

SaveToby.com's money-making days may be at an end however. After receiving a flood of complaints from animal-lovers, PayPal, the on-line payment service the website was using to get donations, decided last month that the site violated its "offensive-materials" standards.

"I get a little sick to my stomach every time I look at that site," admitted Amanda Pires, a PayPal spokesman.

what a sick sick man...

**Kilgamayan** · 04-15-2005, 04:14 PM

What the fuck, SaveToby.com is hilarious.

THE INTERNET: SERIOUS BUSINESS

What a bunch of losers.

tnyhwk900 · 04-15-2005, 04:15 PM

This is nothing new to most of us. It's still sick though <_>

GuidoHunter · 04-15-2005, 04:44 PM

Which came first, this or save Bernd? I know Bernd was on the chopping block for last Christmas dinner, but the deadline was pushed to this Easter.

EDIT: Now that I read the Toby article I can see it's clearly a ripoff. The "God as my witness..." quote gave it away. Not that the premise and the date didn't already, but whatever.

EDIT2: What the hell was up with my link...? Anyway, fixed.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

tnyhwk900 · 04-15-2005, 04:44 PM

Save Bernd was first.

I'm wondering if I should set up a fund for my PSP... Just get members of FFR to donate like a dollar each.

**Moogy** · 04-15-2005, 04:55 PM

LMAO

Hilarious site.

**Tasselfoot** · 04-15-2005, 05:16 PM

Old. And hilarious. I thought about buying a t-shirt.

**Omegix** · 04-15-2005, 05:27 PM

I gave the guy 1 dollar back when paypal was up just because this is pure genius.

Enigma-7 · 04-15-2005, 05:31 PM

I heard this before, some guy gave me the link on AIM.

...

I don't like this guy. It's like me saying "I'll kill my dog if you dont give me 200$ for a NintendoDS."

I hope the butcher get's mad and grinds his...well... use your imagination.

**Freak83** · 04-15-2005, 06:41 PM

Really ironic to read this post today. We were watching the movie "Roger and me" in World Issues today and there was this part with a person who had a sign up that said. "Bunnies or rabbits, pets or meat". It later had an interview with the woman in charge and it showed it as she beat a bunny over the head with a metal stick and then hung it by its legs and skinned it.

Well lots of us sort of didn't watch this part, but yeah... She does this because she needs to in order to survive. He threatens to do something that's already done daily.

RevenG- · 04-15-2005, 07:15 PM

That was a fun read. Not the best but... that was HILARIOUS

hydrojakep · 04-15-2005, 07:29 PM

RevenG lost.

People were talking about this at school, and i just saw it today.

Strange.

MalReynolds · 04-15-2005, 07:47 PM

I could care less. I mean, he should at least share the bunny if he gets enough dinero. Cause hey, if I buy a shirt, I want some rabbit jerky to go with it.

Mal

RevenG- · 04-15-2005, 07:48 PM

LOL. Rabbit Jerky. Thats good. If I bought some of that merchindise it would be the BUNNY TRUCKER HAT!!!!

**sleeplessdragn** · 04-15-2005, 09:09 PM

Am I the only one here who agrees that rabbit is tasty? Sure the rabbit is innocent, but so are the hundreds of cattle that you never see, until it hits your plate. With a human finger in it.

**nickadeemus** · 04-15-2005, 09:23 PM

I posted this in the G-bin not too long ago, but I guess it wasn't a very big hit in there.

Anyway:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/savetoby.asp

Hate to burst anyone's bubble. . .I was pretty excited when I first saw Save Toby, too.

RevenG- · 04-16-2005, 06:42 AM

I thought it was kinda a VERY lame hoax. Also people eat bunnies everyday. You can order them at some restuarants too. Yet I cant beleive they raised already like $25,000 or something like that. But it doesn't change the fact that Save Toby is HILARIOUS!

-Skooter- · 04-16-2005, 09:36 AM

I still thinks it's crap ... The bunny gets ate... so? It sucks...but it isn't worth 50 grand.

04-15-2005, 04:10 PM	#1
Loverofstories Banned Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 71	Poor Toby!!!!!!!!!!!! 'Give me $50,000 or Toby the bunny rabbit is history' By Louisa Gault (Filed: 27/03/2005) Animal lovers around the world have expressed outrage at a website whose owner has threatened to butcher, cook and eat a pet bunny called Toby unless he receives $50,000 (Â£27,000) in donations by the end of June. The website, SaveToby.com, features photographs of the wheat-coloured, innocent-eyed rabbit and claims that his owner found him injured on the roadside and nursed him back to health. $50,000 or Toby gets it It then adds: "Unfortunately, on June 30, 2005, Toby will die. I am going to eat him. I am going to take Toby to a butcher to have him slaughter this cute bunny. I will then prepare Toby for a midsummer feast." Leaving little to the imagination, there are pages of recipes on the site. Lapin BraisÃ© (take "One Toby cut in serving-sized pieces, flour for dusting with salt and pepper"), Moroccan Hare Tagine ("Ingredients: Toby, olive oil, cinnamon, ginger, saffron") and Toby Confit ("Place Toby's legs together with the sliced garlic and rock salt in a bowl overnight"). The recipes are illustrated with pictures of a startled-looking Toby in a cooking pot surrounded by vegetables, on a chopping board, and on a plate surrounded by lettuce tomatoes and salad. His owner, who does not give his name, claims: "I don't want to eat Toby, he is my friend, and he has always been the most loving, adorable pet. "However, God as my witness, I will devour this little guy unless I receive $50,000 into my account from donations or purchase of merchandise." Among the 90 items on offer at the site are "Save Toby" T-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs. It is unclear whether Toby's owner is serious about his threat or whether he is simply running a money-making hoax, but the send-money-or-Fluffy-gets-it scheme appears to be working. Click to enlarge The site claims to have received almost $20,000 (nearly Â£11,000) since it began a couple of months ago. Whether it is a hoax or blackmail, animal welfare groups have reacted with outrage, describing the scam as "disturbing and heartless". The Rabbit Welfare Association, Britain's largest rabbit charity, said that the website was "disturbing" and has appealed to the public not to make donations to such sites. Rae Todd, the association's spokesman, said: "The best course of action is to do nothing." The Humane Society of America agreed. "A site like this promotes, glamorises and trivialises animal cruelty, and could influence impressionable people. "People could look at this site and think, this guy's making a profit - let's do similar things to make money." A spokesman for the United Kingdom branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said: "Such sites are in very poor taste but, unfortunately, are usually legal. "Since these heartless people are encouraged by attention, the most effective way to discourage them is to avoid visiting their sites and to urge others to do the same. "Websites that either depict or suggest cruelty to animals are typically created by people who feel threatened by animal rights or who simply want to get attention." Although both Peta and the Rabbit Welfare Trust suggested that the scheme could be a hoax, the site's operator, who identified himself as "James" in an interview with The Washington Post, said that he and his business partner were in their twenties and lived on the East Coast of America. "We've received hundreds of death threats," said "James", who admitted that it was not his real name. Asked if he was going to eat Toby, he replied: "There's no doubt about it." SaveToby.com's money-making days may be at an end however. After receiving a flood of complaints from animal-lovers, PayPal, the on-line payment service the website was using to get donations, decided last month that the site violated its "offensive-materials" standards. "I get a little sick to my stomach every time I look at that site," admitted Amanda Pires, a PayPal spokesman. what a sick sick man...

04-15-2005, 04:14 PM	#2
Kilgamayan Super Scooter Happy Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Location, Location. Age: 39 Posts: 6,583	RE: Poor Toby!!!!!!!!!!!! What the fuck, SaveToby.com is hilarious. THE INTERNET: SERIOUS BUSINESS What a bunch of losers. __________________ I watched clouds awobbly from the floor o' that kayak. Souls cross ages like clouds cross skies, an' tho' a cloud's shape nor hue nor size don't stay the same, it's still a cloud an' so is a soul. Who can say where the cloud's blowed from or who the soul'll be 'morrow? Only Sonmi the east an' the west an' the compass an' the atlas, yay, only the atlas o' clouds.

04-15-2005, 04:15 PM	#3
tnyhwk900 FFR Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: in your pocket Age: 33 Posts: 4,106	RE: Poor Toby!!!!!!!!!!!! This is nothing new to most of us. It's still sick though <_> __________________

04-15-2005, 04:44 PM	#5
tnyhwk900 FFR Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: in your pocket Age: 33 Posts: 4,106	Save Bernd was first. I'm wondering if I should set up a fund for my PSP... Just get members of FFR to donate like a dollar each. __________________

04-15-2005, 04:55 PM	#6
Moogy 嗚呼 Join Date: Aug 2003 Age: 34 Posts: 10,303	LMAO Hilarious site. __________________ Plz visit my blog ^^^ vintage signature from like 2006 preserved

04-15-2005, 05:16 PM	#7
Tasselfoot Retired BOSS Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Widget Heaven Age: 40 Posts: 25,184	Old. And hilarious. I thought about buying a t-shirt. __________________ RIP

04-15-2005, 05:27 PM	#8
Omegix free tsutter Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Fishers, IN Age: 35 Posts: 883	I gave the guy 1 dollar back when paypal was up just because this is pure genius. __________________

04-15-2005, 06:41 PM	#10
Freak83 FFR Simfile Author Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,281	Really ironic to read this post today. We were watching the movie "Roger and me" in World Issues today and there was this part with a person who had a sign up that said. "Bunnies or rabbits, pets or meat". It later had an interview with the woman in charge and it showed it as she beat a bunny over the head with a metal stick and then hung it by its legs and skinned it. Well lots of us sort of didn't watch this part, but yeah... She does this because she needs to in order to survive. He threatens to do something that's already done daily.

04-15-2005, 07:15 PM	#11
RevenG- FFR Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: California Posts: 425	That was a fun read. Not the best but... that was HILARIOUS __________________ [deviantART] "Originally posted by Tokzic" we really need a "whine about your relationship problems" forum

04-15-2005, 07:29 PM	#12
hydrojakep FFR Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Earth. Age: 32 Posts: 2,293	RevenG lost. People were talking about this at school, and i just saw it today. Strange. __________________

04-15-2005, 07:47 PM	#13
MalReynolds CHOCK FULL O' NUTRIENTS Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: A Denny's Bathroom. Age: 36 Posts: 6,571	I could care less. I mean, he should at least share the bunny if he gets enough dinero. Cause hey, if I buy a shirt, I want some rabbit jerky to go with it. Mal __________________ "A new take on the epic fantasy genre... Darkly comic, relatable characters... twisted storyline." "Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor My new novel: Maledictions: The Offering. Now in Paperback!

04-15-2005, 07:48 PM	#14
RevenG- FFR Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: California Posts: 425	LOL. Rabbit Jerky. Thats good. If I bought some of that merchindise it would be the BUNNY TRUCKER HAT!!!! __________________ [deviantART] "Originally posted by Tokzic" we really need a "whine about your relationship problems" forum

04-15-2005, 09:09 PM	#15
sleeplessdragn ~Bang that beat Harder~ Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,321	Am I the only one here who agrees that rabbit is tasty? Sure the rabbit is innocent, but so are the hundreds of cattle that you never see, until it hits your plate. With a human finger in it. __________________

04-15-2005, 09:23 PM	#16
nickadeemus The spice must flow. Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: In the aeroplane over the sea Posts: 807	I posted this in the G-bin not too long ago, but I guess it wasn't a very big hit in there. Anyway: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/savetoby.asp Hate to burst anyone's bubble. . .I was pretty excited when I first saw Save Toby, too. __________________ Nice.

04-16-2005, 06:42 AM	#17
RevenG- FFR Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: California Posts: 425	I thought it was kinda a VERY lame hoax. Also people eat bunnies everyday. You can order them at some restuarants too. Yet I cant beleive they raised already like $25,000 or something like that. But it doesn't change the fact that Save Toby is HILARIOUS! __________________ [deviantART] "Originally posted by Tokzic" we really need a "whine about your relationship problems" forum

04-16-2005, 09:36 AM	#18
-Skooter- FFR Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Computer ;) Posts: 316	Crock o' I still thinks it's crap ... The bunny gets ate... so? It sucks...but it isn't worth 50 grand. __________________ .so what. -Skooter- .drama makes life boring.

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