Cameraman steps on earless rabbit

LIMBACH-OBERFROHNA, Germany, March 15 (UPI) -- Officials at a German zoo said the life of a baby rabbit born without ears was cut short when a cameraman stepped on him while filming a news segment.

Uwe Dempewolf, director of the Limbach-Oberfrohna zoo, said the news crew was filming a segment Wednesday about Til, a rabbit born three weeks ago without ears, when the cameraman stepped on the animal and instantly killed it, Spiegel Online reported Thursday.

"We are all shocked. During the filming, the cameraman took a step back and trod on the bunny," Dempewolf said. "He was immediately dead, he didn't suffer. It was a direct hit. No one could have foreseen this. Everyone here is upset. The cameraman was distraught.

"We had planned a news conference for tomorrow and we wanted to market it via the media because rabbits without ears are pretty rare. But now this unfortunate event has occurred. The other five bunnies are right as rain. It is regrettable that he was the one who got stepped on," Dempewolf said.