Domesticated Rabbits in the US

Domesticated Rabbits in the US

In the U.S. today, rabbits are raised as pets, for commercial purposes (food, fur), and for use as laboratory animals. Some people enjoy raising rabbits as a hobby. They may raise rabbits for rabbit shows, to eat at home, to sell as pets, or to provide them as 4-H and FFA project animals. Per capita U.S. meat consumption of rabbit meat was .

02 pounds in 2000. In the U.S., people usually have purchased rabbit meat at retail grocery stores or at fancier restaurants but that may be changing as rabbit meat becomes more available at farmers markets and ethnic grocery stores. Most rabbit growers do not have industry groups or national representatives, so rabbit production is often hard to gauge and track. Hobby rabbit breeders raise and sell rabbits for the same reasons as other rabbit growers. They raise and sell rabbits for showing, home meat consumption, direct pet sales, and fur production. The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) sponsors 4,000 rabbit shows per year. An annual, national show, with entries from around the country, can draw as many as 20,000 rabbits and their owners. Show breeders travel to show, spend money on hotels and restaurants, sell rabbits to other enthusiasts and to pet rabbit owners, breed their rabbits, consume their own meat rabbits, and harvest the wool from longhaired rabbit breeds. Commercial rabbit breeders sometimes keep small rabbit herds for show purposes but, in general, industry groups advocate maintaining a separation between breeding for fancy show rabbits and commercial rabbits. The exact number of rabbits kept in the U.S for various purposes is unknown, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. They track some rabbit industry populations as they impact meat inspections and sales, but they estimate that they inspect only about a quarter of the rabbit meat that is slaughtered in the U.S. The rest is slaughtered for personal consumption. In 2001, the USDA estimated that about 2 million rabbits were slaughtered. They further estimated that 2.2 million households owned 5 million pet rabbits. There were more than 250,000 rabbits involved in laboratory research. 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) programs had one million rabbits involved in their projects. Hobby rabbit breeders, represented by the ARBA, raised and showed nearly one million rabbits per year. The USDA concluded that the total domestic rabbit population in the U.S. in 2000 was about 9 million rabbits. According to the American Pet Products Association in their 2009/2010 National Pet Owners Survey, 5.3 million U.S. households owned 15.9 million “small animals.” The survey does not distinguish among rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, and other small animals, however. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 1.8 million U.S. households own 6.1 million pet rabbits, as per their 2007 U.S Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook. Rabbits are considered an “exotic” animal. Compared to the cattle industry, or the poultry industry, the value of the rabbit industry in the U.S. is very small. In 2000, cattle were marketed for $41 billion. Meat rabbits were marketed for between $7 and 8 million. Retail sales of rabbit meat sold for between $16 and 20 million. Sales of rabbits as pets are more valuable. In 2000, rabbits sold as pets accounted for $612 million. Pet owners spent $75 billion on pet supplies that year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers’ Association. Even sales of rabbit fur and wool are relatively modest. Total value for rabbit industry products in 2000 to 2001 was between $745 million and $831 million. Purebred rabbits can be used as breeding stock to establish a small-scale young rabbit selling operation. Another business to explore is selling rabbit meat to specialty markets or gourmet restaurants. Rabbit meat producers find that having 40 does will give them a good return on their investment. Rabbit manure also can be used as a fertilizer. Pelts can be sold or used for high-end fashions. A requirement for any small-scale farming business is to generate a reliable, healthy flow of rabbits. This can be accomplished by purchasing healthy stock, choosing the right breed of rabbits, keeping a breeding schedule, and maintaining your rabbits in the best health possible. To begin, you will need to decide which breed will fit best with your plans.