Cuniculture

Phoenician sailors visiting its coast around the 12th century BC mistook the European rabbit for the familiar rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) of their homeland.

They made their way to England, where during the rule of King Henry VIII, laws banned the exportation of long-haired rabbits as they were a national treasure.

In 1723, long haired rabbits were imported to southern France by English sailors, who described the animals as originally coming from the Angora region of Turkey.

Beginning with Louis Pasteur's experiments in rabies in the later half of the nineteenth century, rabbits have been used as models to investigate various medical and biological problems, including the transmission of disease and protective antiserums.

[3]: 377  Production of quality animals for meat sale and scientific experimentation has driven a number of advancements in rabbit husbandry and nutrition.

[2]: 425–429  Thousands of rabbit shows take place each year and are sanctioned in Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United States by ARBA.

[citation needed] Outside of the exhibition circles, rabbit raising remained a small-scale but persistent household and farm endeavor, in many locations unregulated by the rules that governed the production of larger livestock.

With the ongoing urbanization of populations worldwide, rabbit raising gradually declined, but saw resurgences in both Europe and North America during World War II, in conjunction with victory gardens.

[9][10][11] Eventually, farmers across Europe and in the United States began to approach cuniculture with the same scientific principles as had already been applied to the production of grains, poultry, and hoofed livestock.

[13] These same factors have contributed to the increased popularity of rabbits as "backyard livestock" among locavores and homesteaders in more developed countries in North America and Europe.

[19] Conversely, many homesteaders cite concern with animal welfare in intensive farming of beef, pork and poultry as a significant factor in choosing to raise rabbits for meat.

Specific lines of commercial breeds have been developed that maximize these qualities – rabbits may be slaughtered as early as seven weeks and does of these strains routinely raise litters of 8 to 12 kits.

An operation in an urban area may emphasize odor control and space utilization by stacking cages over each other with automatic cleaning systems that flush away faeces and urine.

Without adequate calories and protein, the doe would either not be fertile, would abort or resorb the foetuses during pregnancy, or would deliver small numbers of weak kits.

Advances in nutrition, such as those published by the USDA Rabbit Research Station, resulted in greater health for breeding animals and the survival of young stock.

Current practices include the option of re-breeding the doe within a few days of delivery (closely matching the behavior of wild rabbits during the spring and early summer, when forage availability is at its peak.)

[21] Well-known chef Mark Bittman wrote that domesticated rabbit "tastes like chicken", because both are "blank palettes on which we can layer whatever flavors we like".

Their long fur is sheared, combed, or plucked (gently pulling loose hairs from the body during molting) and then spun into yarn used to make a variety of products.

[citation needed] Rabbits have been and continue to be used in laboratory work such as production of antibodies for vaccines and research of human male reproductive system toxicology.

"[26] According to the Humane Society of the United States, rabbits are also used extensively in the study of asthma, stroke prevention treatments, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and cancer.

[citation needed] Rabbit cultivation intersects with research in two ways: first, the keeping and raising of animals for testing of scientific principles.

Albino rabbits are typically used in the Draize tests because they have less tear flow than other animals and the lack of eye pigment make the effects easier to visualize.

Various goals include maximizing number of animals per land unit (especially common in areas with high land values or small living areas) minimizing labor, reducing cost, increasing survival and health of animals, and meeting specific market requirements (such as for clean wool, or rabbits raised on pasture).

Specifically as relates to rabbits, this type of production was nearly universal prior to germ theory understanding of infectious parasites (especially coccidia) and the role of nutrition in prevention of abortion and reproductive loss.

Pasturing rabbits within a fence (but not a cage), also known as colony husbandry, has not been commonly pursued due to the high death rate from weather and predators.

Protection from sun and driving rain are important health concerns, as is durability against predator attacks and the ability to be cleaned to prevent loss from coccidiosis.

Simple hutches, kitchen floors, and even natural pits may provide shelter from the elements, while the rabbits are fed from the garden or given what can be gathered as they grow to produce a community's foodstuffs and textiles.

Intensive cuniculture can also be practiced in an enclosed, climate controlled barn where rows of cages house robust rabbits eating pellets and treats before a daily health inspection or weekly weight check.

Production does on fodder are rarely able to raise more than 3 litters a year without heavy losses from deaths of weak kits, abortion, and fetal resorption, all related to poor nutrition and inadequate protein intake.

The ARBA also sponsors youth programs for families as well as underprivileged rural and inner city children to learn responsible care and breeding of domestic rabbits.