The new series of BBC Radio 4’s Buried podcast, Dead Rabbit, brings a new investigation into rural crime, with episodes available as a boxset on BBC Sounds.
Investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor return, this time joined by broadcaster and campaigner Chris Packham, to examine a series of disturbing incidents in the British countryside.
The story begins on a cold morning in February 2024, when dozens of dead rabbits, hares, and a decapitated deer are discovered outside a New Forest primary school.
A month later, a similar scene appears outside a village shop, raising urgent questions about the motive and meaning behind these acts.
Throughout the series, Dan, Lucy, and Chris follow leads that seem almost unbelievable, conducting late-night stake-outs and chasing clues down country lanes. The investigation grows increasingly sinister as they try to uncover why these animals are being left and what message, if any, is being sent.
Dan said, “Dead animals are a warning – a message to ‘look away’. But follow where they lead and you’ll never see your own country the same way again. I can say, with some confidence, that you will have heard nothing quite like Dead Rabbit before.”
Lucy added, “A dozen times we’ve asked ourselves: can this possibly be real? Then, a moment later, we’re wondering how quickly we can run away. As one anonymous interviewee put it to us – only half-jokingly – ‘It’s like Squid Game meets Hot Fuzz.’”
Dead Rabbit is the third series in the Buried podcast strand. The first series won Gold at the British Podcast Awards, and the most recent, The Last Witness, which featured Michael Sheen, received a Grand Award at the New York Radio Festivals and Podcast of the Year at the European DIG Investigative Journalism Awards.
Radio 4 Commissioning Editor Dan Clarke said the series mixes environmental investigation with narrative storytelling, tackling stories about Britain that often go unnoticed.
Buried: Dead Rabbits will be available as a boxset on BBC Sounds from 13 July.
