– 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.
2
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 at markets (Fig. 2.1). Rabbit farms were established to meet this demand. Thus, in several European countries, such as Italy and France, rabbit meat is a common and significant item of the diet, and a strong market exists for rabbit.
Fig. 2.1. Rabbits in a supermarket in France. Rabbits are often sold this way in Europe but cut-up, packaged carcasses are also popular. European consumers, like their North American counterparts, are less willing to cut up rabbits and poultry than they were in the past. (Courtesy of J.I. McNitt)
Since about 1950, the rabbit industry in Europe has changed dramatically. In 1950, most rabbits were produced on a backyard scale, with about six does per rabbitry. There were a very large number of very small producers. In common with other agricultural endeavors, continuous intensification of production has occurred (Fig. 2.2). While the number of rabbit raisers has decreased, the size of the average rabbitry has continued to increase to a level that the Europeans refer to as “industrial-scale broiler rabbit production.”
