Rabbits raised for meat are not acquaintances. They are well-care-for livestock until they're humanely-slaughtered deadstock that has been turned into “food” or “meat.” Livestock and their consumers in America are complete strangers to one another, usually. The same is true with rabbits raised for meat. Bunnies destined for the stewpot and hungry diners never meet in the (living) flesh, so to speak. Hence, no rules of propriety are broken.
By the time I get involved, the rabbit that will become my dinner is skinless, headless, footless, devoid of internal organs, and frozen. I buy chicken at the grocery store without ever seeing their beaks or tail feathers; I buy rabbits from a local farmer without ever touching their fur, looking into their faces, or experiencing those prominent incisors.
As you can see, there is nothing about this rabbit that even vaguely resembles "Thumper" or that creature I met last Friday at the Canfield Fair. This is meat:
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