A satire piece by the People of Lancaster fooled a Phoenixville mayoral candidate into believing that city police were employing drug-sniffing bunnies.

And Dave Gautreau, the Republican nominee for mayor of the Chester County borough, wanted to provide a crack squad of lagomorphs to his own officers, if elected — until someone let him in on the joke.

Gautreau fronted the idea at a forum for candidates on Oct. 12, according to Philly.com.

Doubtful residents quickly uncovered the truth of the matter. A quick Google search reveals that People of Lancaster posted the fake article about local police in March 2016. Police in Amherst, New York, played a similar prank on April 1 of that year.

Gautreau told Philly.com that he was discussing the high cost of drug-sniffing dogs at a party last winter when someone told him about the less-expensive option being used in Lancaster.

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The People of Lancaster article includes a fake quote from city Mayor Rick Gray, who says the “fully trained rabbits will cost the city $1,500 each. But the cost of feeding and supporting the rabbits will only be around $4,800 per year. Far less than a K-9.”

Gautreau said he was “dead-serious” when he made his comments at last week’s forum. “I would not make a joke about a rabbit if I did not believe it to be true.”

He said he called Lancaster and spoke with someone who confirmed that police here use rabbits to find drugs.

The woman he spoke to “sounded convincing,” he told Philly.com, although he admitted he “should have googled it then, but I didn’t.”

Lancaster city police Lt. Bill Hickey told Philly.com that police here “do not use any type of rabbits in our law enforcement activities, nor do we have plans to.”

Phoenixville residents have reacted to the goof with a mix of amusement and anger, according to Philly.com.