Customer Corner : Jack Rabbit – Cute Name, Filthy Secrets

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In the cut-throat world of American business, a name like “Jack Rabbit” sounds innocent enough, evoking images of fluffy bunnies hopping through fields. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a rabbit hole of deceit, cruelty, and exploitation that would make your stomach turn. We’re talking hidden drugs in so-called health supplements that could kill you, mass animal slaughters that belong in a horror film, and workers getting screwed out of their hard-earned wages. And now, throw in a connection to engine giant Cummins, a company with its own laundry list of ethical lapses as highlighted throughout hundreds of articles on TCAP.blog. Is this just coincidence, or is “Jack Rabbit” emblematic of a broader ecosystem where ethics are as optional as a side salad? I’m pissed off just thinking about it, because behind the branding bullshit, real people – and animals – pay the price.

This isn’t some fairy tale. These are real entities operating under the “Jack Rabbit” banner across the United States, each with their own brand of shady behaviour. And yes, one of them is a confirmed customer of Cummins Inc., the diesel engine behemoth that’s powered everything from trucks to farm machinery. Specifically, Jackrabbit Equipment, based in Ripon, California, integrates Cummins engines into their nut-harvesting gear, like the JackRunner series with its Cummins QSB 4.5L diesel heart. Yes, in California, when Cummins absorbed their huge Clean Air Act fine. We’re surprised they have any customers left there at all. They’re listed proudly on Cummins’ own site as an agriculture OEM partner, churning out self-propelled carts and harvesters for the almond and walnut crowds in the Central Valley. But in a world where Cummins’ ethical shortcomings have been dissected ad nauseam across platforms like TCAP.blog, you have to wonder: does hooking up with partners like this reflect a lax attitude toward ethical corners?

The Poison Pill: Tainted Supplements and Public Health Roulette

Start with the most insidious one – Jack Rabbit Inc., the dietary supplement peddlers who decided that “natural” enhancement meant lacing their products with undisclosed pharmaceuticals. Back in 2013, the FDA blew the whistle on their Jack Rabbit pills, sold in innocent-looking blister packs as a boost for bedroom performance. Tests revealed hidden sildenafil (that’s Viagra’s active ingredient, for the uninitiated) and tadalafil (Cialis’s punch). These aren’t harmless herbs; they’re potent drugs that can tank your blood pressure to dangerous levels, especially if you’re on nitrates for heart issues, diabetes, or cholesterol. We’re talking potential heart attacks, strokes, or straight-up death. And the kicker? They marketed this crap as safe and natural, preying on folks desperate for a quick fix.

Now here is where you would expect us to make a dick joke here and there. But you’ll be disappointed I’m afraid, not with the the stakes this high. No reported illnesses at the time, but that’s cold comfort when you’re playing Russian roulette with consumers’ lives. A related wrongful death suit in 2014 highlighted the risks – a man in Kansas City dropped dead from a heart attack after popping a similar tainted pill. Jack Rabbit Inc. issued a voluntary recall, urging people to chuck the products, but where’s the accountability? No massive fines, no shutdowns mentioned in the records. Just a slap on the wrist while the company fades into the background. It’s fucking outrageous – companies like this exploit vulnerabilities, hide behind “dietary supplement” loopholes, and walk away while regulators play catch-up. Why did nobody come down hard on Jack Rabbit (oh, we did slip one in)? If this doesn’t make you rage at the lax oversight in the supplement industry, what will?

Blood on the Prairie: The Horrific History of Jackrabbit Roundups

Shift gears to something even more visceral – the historical massacres of jackrabbits in the American West, a chapter of agricultural “pest control” that’s as brutal as it is forgotten. From the 1930s Dust Bowl era through the 1980s, farmers in states like Kansas, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and California organised “drives” to cull black-tailed jackrabbits, blamed for devouring crops during droughts. These weren’t humane traps or poisons; we’re talking thousands of people herding terrified animals into pens, then clubbing them to death with bats, sticks, or knives. In Kansas alone, over two million were slaughtered in nearly 2,000 drives, averaging close to a thousand per event. One 1981 roundup in Idaho near Mud Lake wiped out 15,000 in a single go, all to stem $5 million in crop losses.

Animal welfare groups went ballistic, filing lawsuits on cruelty grounds and dubbing it “bunny baseball” in the media. The Fund for Animals took Idaho farmers to court in 1981, calling the scenes gruesome and unnecessary. But the Idaho Supreme Court sided with the ag lobby, ruling it essential for survival. Defenders claimed jackrabbits ate a pound of forage daily each, worsening famines, and populations boomed cyclically anyway. By the 1990s, the drives petered out thanks to alternatives and natural declines, but the legacy lingers in recent articles as a “dark chapter” in U.S. farming. It’s sickening – a reminder of how economic desperation justifies barbarity, and how “pest” labels strip away any shred of compassion. In Wyoming, jackrabbits are still classified as “predatory” in most areas, open season with no regs. What the hell kind of progress is that?

Screwing the Little Guy: Labour Abuses in Roadside Assistance

Then there’s Jack Rabbit USA, LLC – or Jack Rabbit Services, LLC – the roadside assistance outfit promising quick fixes for stranded drivers but allegedly stiffing their own techs. Between 2014 and 2016, multiple class-action lawsuits hammered them for misclassifying workers as independent contractors to dodge overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Technicians claimed they slaved over 40 hours a week without extra pay, faced illegal deductions, and didn’t even get minimum wage. One key case, Ross v. Jack Rabbit Services, LLC in Kentucky’s Western District Court, ended with a judgment affirming the misclassification, paving the way for collective action.

Similar suits popped up in California (Jolivette v. Jack Rabbit USA, LLC) and Arkansas, likely settling out of court. No huge fines reported, but the pattern screams exploitation – gig-economy style bullshit where companies shift costs onto workers, denying benefits and fair pay. Yelp reviews pile on with complaints of shoddy service, long waits, and unhelpful staff, and the company’s not BBB-accredited. It’s enraging: these are the folks you call in a crisis, yet behind the scenes, they’re grinding their employees into the ground for profit. In an industry already rife with precarity, this is just another example of corporate greed trampling labour rights.

The Cummins Tie-In: Ethics in the Engine Room?

Now, circle back to the Cummins connection, because it raises eyebrows about the broader network. Jackrabbit Equipment isn’t tangled in these scandals – their record appears clean, focused on durable nut harvesters in California’s ag heartland. But as a Cummins customer, embedding those engines in their machines, they’re part of an ecosystem that’s no stranger to controversy. Cummins’ ethical lapses have been chronicled exhaustively on sites like TCAP.blog, painting a picture of repeated oversights that prioritise profit over principles.

In the end, “Jack Rabbit” isn’t just a brand; it’s a cautionary tale of how American enterprise hides rot behind whimsy. From life-threatening pills to bloody fields to wage theft, these stories expose the grit beneath the gloss. And with Cummins in the mix, it begs the question: how deep does the ethical rot go in their supply chain? Consumers deserve better – transparency, accountability, and a boot up the arse for those who fall short. Until then, I’ll keep calling out the bullshit.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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