Rabbit Cemetery

In the late 1800s, Australia faced a rabbit invasion. The big-eared beasts, introduced by the European colonists, were eating their way across the pastoral land of the east and were rapidly heading west. Something had to be done, fast.

Out of desperation, the government erected the Rabbit Proof Fence in the early 20th century. When the 1,139-mile fence was finished, it was the world’s longest unbroken fence.

The Rabbit Cemetery in Varley, Western Australia, may be the only one of its kind. Animal rights activists everywhere can rest assured that all the bunnies who met their demise in the fence’s barbed brambles and acres of chicken wire have now been memorialized.

Through a community-wide effort, their memories live on in handmade headstones and beautiful mosaic tributes at this unique memorial, where flowers and colorful rabbit plushies line each grave. A section of the original Rabbit Proof Fence looms behind the small cemetery; a stark reminder of a violent past, and a message to try better in the future and not introduce non-native species to fragile ecosystems.