Chapter 2

The present state of rabbit production in developing countries

AFRICA

In Ghana, the National Rabbit Project was established in 1971, with Government support (Figures 2 and 3). By 1974 the rabbit breeding herd at Kwabenya, near Legon, had increased to approximately 698 and by 1975 to approximately 1,478 (Mamattah, personal communication). Applied research in breeding, disease control, housing and feeding (based on locally available materials) and marketing is being conducted. Extension services for the training of local farmers are being developed, and long-term plans include the establishment of regional marketing and breeding centres. A very important part of this project is concerned with rabbit production on a small backyard scale. Rabbits from the centre have now been distributed to, and are breeding in, every region in Ghana, and it is estimated that 5,000,000 rabbits are being eaten annually (Mamattah, personal communication).

In the Republic of Zaire, rabbit production projects have been supported by Oxfam, World Neighbours, and the Service de Developpement Agricole (an organisation which has been operating in the central part of Zaire for over 10 years). Extension work has been carried out by the latter organisation and there are now 500 farmers reported to be raising rabbits in this country.

Similar projects are being supported by Oxfam in the Tribal Trust Lands of Rhodesia (Stamp, personal communication; Mills, 1974) and a smaller one at the YMCA farm school at Marangu, Tanzania.

A rabbit project aimed at increasing local meat supplies has also been planned in Malawi, at Bunda College, Lilongwe (McNitt and Makhambera, personal communication).

In Malawi, rabbit production is carried out on a small backyard scale only, and there are, as yet, no overall development schemes in operation. Most of the rabbits are kept near the main urban areas of Lilongwe, Blantyre and Zomba. The herds do not usually exceed 30 in number. Rabbits are kept in open run systems in which they are allowed to burrow and breed at will and in cages. They have even been allowed to run free (McNitt, personal communication).

According to the publication Agricultural Development in Nigeria, 1973-1985 published by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (1974), rabbit production is becoming popular in Nigeria and every effort will be made to increase production levels.

SOUTH AMERICA

On the South American continent, Peru has a population of approximately 200,000 rabbits. The majority of these are bred on a small scale, though large-scale production is just beginning in Lima where a considerable amount of rabbit meat is sold to supermarkets (Dresser, personal communication). There is also interest from many private breeders although rabbit breeding in rural communities is practically unknown. The Livestock Division of the Ministry of Agriculture has expressed interest in rabbit breeding within the community created by the Agrarian Reform Process.

In Brazil, rabbit breeding is reported to have increased considerably in the last few years due to the increasing demand for rabbit meat and skins. Four official Associations, which are recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture, are in existence and the rabbit population is officially estimated to be 150,000. Unofficial estimates almost double this figure (Karlic, personal communication).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Ecuador has recently set up a rabbit breeding and distribution farm (Mena, personal communication). However, rabbit production in Ecuador is only carried out by a few farmers in the Andean zone at present.

ASIA

In Asia, China is well known as a rabbit producing country; rabbits are widely reared by rural communities, with apparently successful results (Blaxter, personal communication).

A small unit consisting of 20 breeding does and 4 bucks has been set up in Lumle Agricultural College, Nepal as a part of the British Ex-servicemen's Reintegration Training Scheme (Karki, personal communication). The project is still at its early stages, but commercial units are being set up, particularly in Kathmandu.

A very different situation exists in India where rabbit production does not seem to have gained in popularity. One of the reasons put forward for this is that rabbit meat has not been accepted by the meat eating population (Anand, personal communication). The Ministry of Agriculture has suggested that there is fear of a rabbit problem similar to that in Australia (Walker, personal communication). Moreover, many local populations do not like killing and eating white rabbits. The nearer rabbits are to the wild type in colour the more acceptable they become (Casebow, personal communication). Although much interest has apparently been shown by livestock producers in New Delhi, the introduction of meat rabbits has not received the support of the Indian Agricultural Institute. Nevertheless, some private individuals keep rabbits in India. One rabbit scheme is being run by the Young Men's Christian Association at Pathanamithatha, Kerala. However, a project at Diptipur failed largely due to a shortage of suitable stock (Casebow, personal communication). Some research institutes breed their own rabbits for vaccine testing, e.g. the Institute of Veterinary Biology Products at Poona (Salvi, personal communication). Rabbits are not kept on any large commercial scale in India or Bangladesh and their use for meat production is not officially encouraged.

THE INDO-PACIFIC

There has been some interest in rabbit production of meat in the Pacific area (Bewg, personal communication). Rabbit production enterprises have been considered in Fiji but in New Guinea the Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries decided against permitting the development of a commercial rabbit industry. Special permits are granted to enable rabbits to be housed in laboratories, however, and it has been found that they will survive there only if air conditioning is provided (Fennessy, personal communication).

In Mauritius, a rabbit production development scheme is in progress, sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture jointly with interested international bodies (Bewg, 1974). The rabbits in this country are kept mainly in small backyard systems (Borland, personal communication).

THE WEST INDIES

In the Caribbean, small-scale rabbit production is fairly common and is actively encouraged by the Governments of several territories (e.g. Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua, Montserrat, St Lucia and Dominica). Large-scale units are rare, although a large commercial unit, planned to house a herd of several thousand does, has recently been established in Trinidad. In Jamaica, the Ministry of Agriculture set up a breeding and distribution Centre at the Bodles Experimental Station in the early 70's. In Antigua, a small rabbit herd has been set up at the Government Livestock Station.

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN GENERAL

It is evident that domesticated rabbits have already been introduced to several tropical developing countries, and now exist in considerable numbers in countries such as Ghana. In many cases rabbits of various breeds were first introduced locally by expatriates. This was followed in some cases by special importations of commercial meat breeds. Another factor responsible for the introduction of rabbits in developing countries is their widespread use by medical and veterinary laboratories. In Brazil, this is said to have contributed to their subsequent use and development as meat animals (Karlic, personal communication). This has not happened in India despite the use of rabbits in such laboratories.

Organisations such as Oxfam and the Men's Baptist Association have made valuable contributions to the development of rabbit meat production in developing countries. However, it would appear that Government support is necessary if the developments are going to be extensive and permanent (Figure 4). This is very evident in Ghana, which has achieved considerable success in the development of rabbit production in rural communities.

Ideally, a central breeding and distribution centre (together with regional centres in large countries) supported by the Government should be set up, as in Ghana, Nepal, Jamaica and Antigua. From such a centre, rabbits can be supplied to villages in various parts of the country. In countries where rabbit production is a relatively new venture, experience can be gained by the setting up of a pilot unit at a central breeding station. An important feature of such a rabbit development scheme is the training of extension workers and the provision of practical advice for farmers. This also could be carried out at a central breeding station or regional centres and agricultural colleges.