Rabbit Production. James I McNitt
There is increasing interest in rabbits as pets. As described in Chapter 18, the housing, nutritional, and social needs of companion rabbits differ in several key aspects from those of production or show animals. An excellent resource for pet rabbit information is the House Rabbit Society, 148 Broadway, Richmond, CA, 94804-1912. The HRS maintains a website (www.rabbit.org) and publishes the quarterly House Rabbit Newsletter.
Some feed manufacturers have spent a great deal of time and money in research work to develop efficient rations for rabbits. They also issue bulletins and sometimes furnish the breeder with hutch cards and other record cards. Many of them have field representatives who make visits to rabbitries and assist the breeders with their rabbit problems. Some large feed companies have their own research and testing facilities.
A wealth of information about rabbits can be found on the Internet. Using a search engine to locate the sites for the World Rabbit Science Association (WRSA), the ARBA, or the HRS will provide much useful information as well as links to other sites.
A Rabbit by Any Other Name
According to the Oxford dictionary, the word rabbit is derived from rabotte, a word from an old dialect in northern France, or from the Walloon word robett, whereas Webster’s dictionary attributes the word to the old Middle English rabet . It is interesting to see the word for rabbit in a variety of languages:
Afrikaans – konyn
Danish – kanin
Dutch – konij
Finnish – kaniini
French – lapin
German – kaninchen
Hungarian – nyul
Indonesian – kelinci
Italian – conigli
Norwegian – kanin
Polish – królik
Portuguese – coelho
Spanish – conejo
Swahili – sungura
Swedish – kanin
Rabbits are well represented in folklore. The Easter Bunny has its origins in ancient pagan rituals. In early Easter or spring celebrations, rabbits and hares were symbols of fertility and new life. Qualities of the rabbit usually depicted in tales and folklore generally relate to gentleness, mischievousness, and being the dupe or victim of deception, such as Brer Rabbit. Other famous rabbits include Walt Disney’s Thumper in Bambi, Bugs Bunny, and Peter Rabbit in the Beatrix Potter tales.
Further Reading
Colin, M., and F. Lebas. 1995. Le Lapin dans le Monde . Association Française de Cuniculture, Lempdes, France.
Lukefahr, S.D., P.R. Cheeke, J.I. McNitt, and N.M. Patton. 2004. Limitations of intensive meat rabbit production in North America: A review. Can. J. Anim. Sci . 84: 349–360.
Manning, P.J., D.H. Ringer, and C.E. Newcomer. 1994. The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit (2nd ed.). Academic Press, Inc., New York.
Sanford, J.C. 1992. Notes on the history of the rabbit. Appl. Rabbit Res .15: 1–28.
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Rabbit Production Worldwide
Rabbits are raised to some extent in virtually every country. It is in temperate areas that rabbit raising has been most significant in terms of commercial development, probably reflecting the Mediterranean origin of the animal. Presently, the rabbit is becoming increasingly important in tropical areas, particularly in higher regions (up-lands), where the climate is more moderate. According to figures compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), China is by far the largest producer followed by Italy, and the South Korea (Table 2.1). It has only been in recent years that rabbit production has become popular in Asia. The figures were provided by the countries themselves. Accurate data on the numbers of rabbits produced are difficult to obtain, because in most countries such records are not kept and because many rabbits are slaughtered for home consumption and thus would not be officially recorded. In general, rabbit production and consumption are similar. Following is a brief description of rabbit production in some major areas of the world.
Table 2.1. Estimates of rabbit meat production in 2010 by leading rabbit-producing countries.
| Country | Estimated production (thousands of metric tons of carcass) |
| China | 669 |
| Italy | 255 |
| South Korea | 133 |
| Egypt | 70 |
| Spain | 66 |
| France | 52 |
| Czech Republic | 38 |
| Germany | 38 |
| Russian Federation | 14 |
| Ukraine | 14 |
| Argentina | 7 |
| Hungary | 5 |
| Mexico | 4 |
| Kenya | 3 |
| North Korea | 3 |
| Poland | 3 |
| Brazil | 2 |
| Malta | 2 |
| Belarus | 1 |
| All other countries | 294 |
| Total world production | 1693 |
FAOSTAT, 2010. FAO Statistics Division. Available at:
http://faostat.fao.org/site/569/DesktopDefault.
aspx?PageID=569.
Europe
Western European countries, such as Italy, France, and Spain, have traditionally been major producers and consumers of rabbit meat. In past years, many of the peasant farmers of countries such as France kept a small herd of rabbits to produce meat for their own family’s consumption. Rabbit meat was an important part of the diet. As intensification of agriculture occurred and the size of farms increased, many of the former peasant farmers who moved to cities retained their enthusiasm for rabbit meat and purchased it