On Saturday morning, EBPI went back to Jim Montgomery’s Green Faerie Farm to cover a rabbit slaughter. As one might imagine it was our most intense shoot so far, even though in reality it was in some ways extremely easy - just set up the camera and shoot, basically. Jim killed three rabbits, under the apple tree and in front of our EX-1.

Any footage we use of the slaughters will work as b-roll for the section of Jim’s interview where he talks about his personal views on raising animals. We got various angles and distances so we can be tactful, and not sensational, when we show it. But we felt it was an essential aspect of what he does, and worthy of some coverage in our film.

Here’s what he does: he takes a rabbit from its cage, brings it over to a spot in the garden, and straddles it while stroking the ears and calming it down. He closes the rabbit’s eyes as well, and it doesn’t take long for it to chill and stay there, motionless. Jim then grabs an old pellet gun, aims it straight down at the rabbit’s head, and shoots one shot into its brain.

The first two rabbits immediately stiffened, stood up, and fell over to the side, twitching. Jim moved them over to the cutting board and started to cut off their heads. Whether by virtue of the fact that they weren’t quite dead, or simply that nerves can still act up - plenty - after death, the rabbits kicked fairly violently during the cutting. It seemed though whether or not they were completely dead, though, the kicking was a nervous muscular reaction and nothing more. The head of a rabbit doesn’t come off easy.

After the heads were off, Jim cut off the tail and all paws but one and strung the rabbits up by the remaining paw, by a string hanging from a tree. From there he stripped the fur, which he saved in the freezer, and removed most of the organs. Then he rinsed the carcasses off with water. The end.

Jim knows what he’s doing. He’s killed over 100 rabbits, in his estimation. Over the course of that many animals, you’re going to see it all, including animals that remain motionless after the pellet shot, and others that kick violently. He’s tried several methods but has settled upon the pellet gun - he thinks it does the job as humanely and quickly as possible.

It wasn’t easy to watch. Bunnies are cute and soft, and in our society we are quite far removed from the meat we eat. To see an animal go from alive and well to skinless and gutted hanging by a string in 30 minutes was something of a shock. Also, the filmmaking aspect made for some strange - if not awkward - moments. “I’m sorry, can you put the liver back in for a second? We need to move the camera and get that again.” Jim took it all in stride and humored us and we fiddled with the camera, the bounce up in the trees, the tripod, and the mic and assorted wires.

This is part of Jim’s identity as an urban farmer. He kills his chickens, too, though he takes the goats to a butcher to get it done perfectly. The animals truly make his backyard feel like a farm - not just a food garden. It was tough to cover, but necessary, both for Jim’s identity and also to show another side of urban farming.