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Marty Hahne, or Marty the Magician as he is known to school groups around Springfield, Mo., where he makes a living making his rabbit, Casey, magically appear in a variety of places (birthday gift, miniature library, cookie jar), is headlining a ventriloquists’ convention in Cincinnati this week.

It’s an adult crowd, not one easily amazed by cuddly bunny gags, so Casey did not make the trip. But he was still the star of Mr. Hahne’s act Wednesday night.

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People can’t believe the story

“I did a 10-minute bit at the start of my show last night talking about my rabbit situation,” the magician explained Thursday. “It was better than any magic trick I could ever pull off. People can’t believe the story.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires the rabbit to be licensed, which is weird enough, but where things enter the rabbit warren of the truly bizarre is a new USDA rule seven years in the making.

Marty must have a rabbit disaster “plan” in place by July 29, 2013, in case of calamity — “flooding,” “earthquake,” “landslide/mudslide/avalanche,” “wildfire,” “intentional attack,” to name a few examples.