Top ten endangered rabbit breeds (and some not-so-endangered locals)

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists ten breeds of rabbits as being in danger of vanishing. Many of these breeds were developed for, and became popular because of the quality of their fur and/or meat. Luckily, both rabbit fur and meat has declined in popularity, but as a result, these rabbits are mainly bred by hobbyists and fanciers of a particular breed.

I think we have all seen the results of irresponsible breeders: unsocialized rabbits, bred as commodities with no regard to the health of the rabbit, sold for 2 bucks each to the pet store. These rabbits usually end up at a shelter at best, or dumped in a park/given away on Craigslist/left in solitary confinement in a backyard hutch when the kids tire of it, and possibly having a litter or two of its own along the way.

There are those rare individuals however, who raise a certain breed of rabbit to promote and preserve the best qualities of a breed. The most responsible of these individuals will not sell one of their rabbits as a pet unless it is first spayed or neutered, and would never try to sell one of their bunnies to a pet shop. These responsible few make sure they don’t have so many bunnies that they cannot give them individual time and attention, out of cage time, and affection.

It’s a balancing act: allowing the does to have just a few kits to keep a breed from vanishing and yet not having more bunnies than there are good homes for them. Very, very few individuals can maintain this balance and assume this responsibility.

There are so, so many sweet rabbits in shelters (like the ones in the slide show, below), who are in need of good homes through no fault of their own; please consider them. Never ever buy pet shop rabbits – their health is uncertain, their personality is unknown, and you are promoting the business of the ‘two-buck-a-bunny’ breeders.

I enjoy researching the history of various rabbit breeds, most of which I will never see, as I refuse to patronize rabbit shows (that is a whole other article in itself). I enjoy looking at my mixed-breed shelter bunnies and trying to guess what different breeds they might be. In an ideal world, all bunnies (not to mention human children) would be taken care of by responsible owners.

While I hope you enjoy reading about different breeds of rabbits,  if you decide to share your home with a rabbit PLEASE investigate the multitudes of fine rabbits available from your local shelter; these rabbits have been seen by a veterinarian, are spayed/neutered, and their personalities are known. Most shelters are in need of foster parents for their bunnies – in this way you will be able to give a bunny a good home, love and attention, with expenses (food, etc) taken care of by the shelter.

List of endangered breeds, courtesy of American Livestock Breeds Conservancy:

CRITICAL

• 
  American
  
• 
  American Chinchilla
  
• 
  Silver Fox
  

THREATENED

• 
  Belgian Hare
  
• 
  Blanc de Hotot
  
• 
  Silver Beveren
  

WATCH

• 
  Crème d'Argent
  
• 
  Giant Chinchilla
  
• 
  Lilac
• 
  Rhinelander
  

Would you like to hotly debate a controversial topic? Cool!! Come join Dayton Area Rabbit Network at our next monthly meeting, which happens to be tomorrow, 6:30 pm, at Christopher’s restaurant in Kettering, 2318 E Dorothy Lane.

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