Rabbit Production - James I McNitt

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heavily on research to uncover information on nutrition and feeding, the cause and prevention of diseases, optimal breeding and genetics programs, and the solution of a myriad of problems that confront the producer. Compared to the situation with other livestock species, research on rabbits has been very limited. It is useful to review the history of rabbit research and the contemporary situation, with the inevitable risk of omission.

      Research relevant to commercial rabbit production has been conducted mainly in several European countries and in the United States. The U.S. Rabbit Experiment Station was established in Fontana, California, in the late 1920s. Fontana is in southern California, near Los Angeles. In the 1920s, the Los Angeles area was a major site of commercial rabbit production in the United States. The second director of the U.S. Rabbit Experiment Station was George S. Templeton (Fig. 2.6). He started at Fontana in 1933 and retired in 1960. Mr. Templeton directed research on rabbit feeding, nutrition, and management. The Fontana station generated much useful information concerning the scientific production of rabbits. Mr. Templeton’s experience and research findings led him to publish in 1955 the book Domestic Rabbit Production which, through four editions, came to be the leading source of information in the United States on rabbit production. In 1982, Mr. Templeton’s book was revised by Dr. Peter R. Cheeke and Dr. Nephi M. Patton as Rabbit Production . Further revisions have been carried out by the current authors in 1987, 1996, 2000, and 2012. About 1964, the U.S. Rabbit Experiment Station was closed, following several years of relative inactivity after Mr. Templeton’s retirement.

      Fig. 2.6. Mr. George Templeton, Director of the U.S. Rabbit Experiment Station in Fontana, California from 1933 to the early 1960s. (Courtesy of P.R. Cheeke)

      Very little rabbit research was conducted in the United States from that time until the late 1970s, when the Oregon State University Rabbit Research Center was established (Fig. 2.7). The OSU Rabbit Research Center developed programs in nutrition and feeding, rabbit diseases, reproductive physiology, genetics, management, and meat quality. The OSU program focused primarily on commercial meat rabbit production, although much of the research had relevance to other types of rabbit production as well. Other rabbit research programs have been established in the United States at Brigham Young University in Utah, Alabama A&M University, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (Fig. 2.8), and Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana. Several private companies have research and testing centers. Generally, information developed by private companies is proprietary and not made available to the public.

      Fig. 2.7. The Oregon State University Rabbit Research Center. (Courtesy of P.R. Cheeke)

      Fig. 2.8. The Texas A&M University–Kingsville Rabbit Research and Teaching Program carries out experiments on all aspects of rabbit production, with special emphasis on genetic improvement. (Photo Courtesy of S.D. Lukefahr)

      In Europe, France, Italy, and Spain are at the forefront of rabbit research. The Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), the French equivalent of the USDA, has a Laboratory of Rabbit Research at Toulouse. Major programs in nutrition and genetics have been conducted. That work has had a major impact on the intensification of the rabbit industry in Europe.

      Rabbit research is also conducted in Belgium, Italy, Germany, and Hungary. Spanish scientists have been active in the areas of rabbit genetics and nutrition. The rabbit research program at the Universidad Politechnica de Valencia has an active team of rabbit scientists. Research in Germany has concentrated on Angora wool production. In England, the pioneering research at Cambridge University on genetics and reproductive physiology has been followed by studies on artificial insemination and embryonic development.

      Since the 1980s there has been much interest in the rabbit as a meat source in protein-poor developing countries. Rabbit research programs in a number of African, Asian and Latin American nations, including Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, and Indonesia, have been initiated.

      It is evident from this brief review that there is worldwide interest in the potentials of the rabbit and that a considerable research base has been established.

      An organization called the World Rabbit Science Association was formed in the 1970s to promote communication among rabbit scientists. This organization sponsors the World Rabbit Congresses, which are held every four years. As shown in Table 2.2, there have been ten Congresses where rabbit scientists from around the world met to share their research findings.

Year Location
1st 1976 Dijon, France
2nd 1980 Barcelona, Spain
3rd 1984 Rome, Italy
4th 1988 Budapest, Hungary
5th 1992 Corvallis, Oregon
6th 1996 Toulouse, France
7th 2000 Valencia, Spain
8th 2004 Puebla, Mexico
9th 2008 Verona, Italy
10th 2012 Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt

      The American Branch of the World Rabbit Science Association also meets every four years between the meetings of the parent organization. Meetings have been held in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina. These meetings primarily attract scientists from North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean.

      Further Reading

      Colin, M., and F. Lebas. 1995. Le Lapin dans le Monde . Association Française de Cuniculture, Lempdes, France.

      Lebas, F., P. Coudert, R. Rouvier, and H. de Rochambeau. 1997. The Rabbit: Husbandry, Health and Production (2nd ed.). FAO Animal Production and Health Series, No. 21. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.

      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.

      Moura, A.S.A.M.T. 2010. Rabbit production in Latin America. Proc. 4th Rabbit Congress of the Americas . September 22–24, 2010. Cordoba, Argentina.

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