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A domestic rabbit, also called a bunny, is any of the several varieties of European rabbit that has been domesticated by humans. There are more than 50
different breeds of domestic rabbit. As with breeds of dogs, rabbit breeds were generally created by humans at different times,
for different purposes.
The Rex breed is distinguished by its lovely velvet fur. A medium size rabbit, also a commercial, they can be 7-9 pounds. They come in 15 different colors. Rex fur is a recessive genetic mutation that results in shortened guard hairs, the length of the down coat, which stick out from the body creating a plush velvet coat. The resulting coat is short, plush and very dense as it is what would be called undercoat on a normal fured rabbit. They are full of personality and make lovely pets.
Phoenician sailors visiting the coast of Spain circa 1100 B.C.E., mistaking the European rabbit for a species from their homeland, gave it the name
i-shepan-ham. A corruption of this name, used by the Romans, became the Latin name for Spain, Hispania. In Rome rabbits were raised in l
arge walled colonies. These captive rabbits were raised as food and permitted to interbreed at will. No man-made breeds of rabbits had yet been developed.
Selective breeding of rabbits began in the Middle Ages, when they were first treated as domesticated farm animals. By the 1500s, several new breeds of different colors and sizes were being recorded. In the 1800s, as animal fancy in general began to emerge, rabbit fanciers began to attend rabbit shows in Western Europe and the United States. Breeds were created and modified for the purpose of exhibition, a departure from the breeds that had been created for food, fur, or wool. The rabbit's emergence as a household pet began during the Victorian era. Rabbits have also been used in laboratory animal experimentation, particularly regarding cosmetics products. Since the 1970s the animal rights movement has attacked testing cosmetic and cleaning products tested on animals, particularly rabbits, and has decreased the rabbit's use in this field. The domestic rabbit continues to be popular as a show animal and pet. Rabbit shows occur in many places and are sanctioned in Canada and the United States by the American Rabbit Breeder's Association (ARBA). |
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