Phoenician sailors visiting the coast of Spain circa 1100s BC, mistaking the European rabbit for a species from their homeland (the rock hyrax Procavia capensis Hebrew: שפן סלע shafan sela), gave it the name i-shepan-ham. A theory exists that a corruption of this name, used by the Romans, became the Latin name for Spain, Hispania – although this theory is somewhat controversial. In Rome rabbits were raised in large walled colonies.
In the 19th century, as animal fancy in general began to emerge, rabbit fanciers began to sponsor rabbit exhibitions and fairs in Western Europe and the United States. Breeds were created and modified for the added purpose of exhibition, a departure from the breeds that had been created solely for food, fur, or wool. The rabbit's emergence as a household pet began during the Victorian era.
Domestic Rabbits have been popular in the United States since the late 1800s. What became known as the "Belgian Hare Boom", began with the importation of the first Belgian Hares from England in 1888 and soon after the founding of the first rabbit club in America, the American Belgian Hare Association. From 1898 to 1901 many thousands of Belgian Hares were imported to America.Today the Belgian Hare is considered one of the rarest breeds with less than 200 in the United States as reported in a recent survey.
The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) was founded in 1910 and is the national authority on rabbit raising and rabbit breeds having a uniform Standard of Perfection, registration and judging system. The domestic rabbit continues to be popular as a show animal and pet. Many thousand rabbit shows occur each year and are sanctioned in Canada and the United States by the ARBA. Today the domesticated rabbit is the third most popular mammalian pet in Britain after dogs and cats.
Rabbits have and continue to be used in laboratory work such as production of antibodies for vaccines and research of human male reproductive system toxicology. The Environmental Health Perspective, published by the National Institute of Health, states, "The rabbit [is] an extremely valuable model for studying the effects of chemicals or other stimuli on the male reproductive system." According to the Humane Society of the United States, rabbits are also used extensively in the study of bronchial asthma, stroke prevention treatments, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and cancer. Animal rights activists have opposed animal experimentation for non-medical purposes, such as the testing of cosmetic and cleaning products, which has resulted in decreased the use of rabbits in these areas.[citation needed]
There are many different breeds of domestic rabbit, with various sizes, temperaments, and care requirements. As with breeds of dogs, rabbit breeds were selectively bred by humans at different times to achieve certain desired characteristics (including coat color and texture, size, and body shape). Care requirements have been greatly altered; for example, some new breeds need grooming a few times a day without fail, whereas others, such as the Holland lop, have a tendency to develop dental problems. Temperaments can vary slightly with breed and gender, as with any animal. There are over 47 rabbit breeds recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in the United States. There are many more breeds of rabbits worldwide.
Most genetic defects in the domestic rabbit are due to recessive genes. These genes are carefully tracked by fanciers of the breeds who show them; just as dog fanciers carefully check for hip/eye and heart problems, rabbit fanciers extensively follow their own lines to remove unwanted defects. However, unpure dwarf-size breeds, which are bred for pets by non-fancier breeders, are not carefully screened for health problems, and may still develop these defects.[citation needed] Domestic rabbits' diets consist mostly of hay, preferably as commercially made rabbit pellets or occasionally fed as loose hay. Suitable feed pellets consists of a wide variety of grasses and herbs. In contrast, lawn cutting is a poor choice for feeding as it contains very few species of grasses and no herbs, and rabbits are very susceptible to rapid changes in diet and do not react well to sudden introduction of new feeds or vegetables. Rabbit raisers provide various varieties of hay including timothy-grass, orchard grass, oat hay and alfalfa, to supplement the rabbit's normal diet of pellets and replicate their natural diet as a foraging animal. Studies have shown that although a short changeover period is needed, domestic rabbits are highly adaptable to diets produced from locally available forage products in developing countries. Overfeeding of leafy green vegetables often leads to diarrhea, and too many pellets or sugary fruits can lead to other health problems. Rabbits are hindgut fermenters and therefore have an enlarged cecum. The cecum allows rabbits to digest, via fermentation (biochemistry) what they otherwise would not be able to metabolically process. Because a rabbit has a sensitive and rather substantial gastrointestinal tract, a rabbit's diet should consist of some amount of fiber. Without a proper diet, gastrointestinal stasis can occur and have detrimental effects on the animal itself. It is in the cecum that this fiber is digested.
In the 19th century, as animal fancy in general began to emerge, rabbit fanciers began to sponsor rabbit exhibitions and fairs in Western Europe and the United States. Breeds were created and modified for the added purpose of exhibition, a departure from the breeds that had been created solely for food, fur, or wool. The rabbit's emergence as a household pet began during the Victorian era.
Domestic Rabbits have been popular in the United States since the late 1800s. What became known as the "Belgian Hare Boom", began with the importation of the first Belgian Hares from England in 1888 and soon after the founding of the first rabbit club in America, the American Belgian Hare Association. From 1898 to 1901 many thousands of Belgian Hares were imported to America.Today the Belgian Hare is considered one of the rarest breeds with less than 200 in the United States as reported in a recent survey.
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There are many different breeds of domestic rabbit, with various sizes, temperaments, and care requirements. As with breeds of dogs, rabbit breeds were selectively bred by humans at different times to achieve certain desired characteristics (including coat color and texture, size, and body shape). Care requirements have been greatly altered; for example, some new breeds need grooming a few times a day without fail, whereas others, such as the Holland lop, have a tendency to develop dental problems. Temperaments can vary slightly with breed and gender, as with any animal. There are over 47 rabbit breeds recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in the United States. There are many more breeds of rabbits worldwide.
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Useful posting. Thank you.
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Holland Lop rabbit