Leave No Bear Behind Part 17: Hot Cross Bunny

M@
By M@ Last edited 163 months ago
Leave No Bear Behind Part 17: Hot Cross Bunny
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An occasional series in which we highlight an important social issue that the mainstream media won't touch: the plight of London's increasingly neglected toy animals.

'Save me!', implores this plump bunny, abandoned on the cobbles of Poplar Road, Loughborough Junction. "Clearly a victim of a nasty hit and run incident," opines 'Lunar Simian', who submitted this picture. "When will the world take more notice of the cruelty to soft toys?"

Well, rest assured Lunar, we're doing all we can to raise awareness. That's why we're also publishing your second photo, showing a large number of disposed teddies in one place. This image is deeply worrying, as Lunar points out:

Whilst this charity shop on Camden High Street might be trying its best to help the plight of unwanted teddy bears, it's clear that the slave-market style conditions behind the window pane are no better than living rough on the street...

If you look carefully, many of the captives are familiar from previous editions of this column. There's a Tigger, last seen lynched at Clapham Junction, Scooby Doo who was spotted next to some bins only last week, and Winnie the Pooh whom we found abandoned in Southwark.

Finally, Simon Harbour noticed this post-perching pachyderm lurking on the streets of Richmond. Elephants never forget, they say. This poor creature will doubtlessly ponder his sorry abandonment for the rest of his short, brutish life.

Remember that the rose-tinted world of Toy Story 3, currently playing out in cinemas everywhere, is just a fiction. The growing problem of London's vagrant toy animal population is very real. Help us document this modern malaise by sending snaps to tips@londonist.com.

Last Updated 07 August 2010