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In Europe, where rabbits are farmed on a large scale, they are protected against myxomatosis and calicivirus with a genetically modified virus. If it were to make its way into wild populations in areas such as Australia, it could create a population boom, as those diseases are the most serious threats to rabbit survival. A popular culture manifestation of this tradition can be found in the character title character of Sailor Moon, whose name is Usagi Tsukino, a Japanese pun on the words “rabbit of the moon. This is thought to date back to early times in the quarrying industry, where piles of extracted stone (not fit for sale) were built into tall rough walls (to save space) directly behind the working quarry face; the rabbit’s natural tendency to burrow would weaken these “walls” and cause collapse, often resulting in injuries or even death.

Rabbits have six incisors, or front teeth, four on the top and two on the bottom. Nonburrowing rabbits make surface nests called forms, generally under dense protective cover. While the European rabbit is the best-known species, it is probably also the least typical, as there is considerable variability in the natural history of rabbits. In gardens, they are typically kept in hutches -small, wooden, house-like boxes- that protect the rabbits from the environment and predators. In many regions, rabbits are also bred for meat, a practice called cuniculture.

Rabbits graze heavily and rapidly for roughly the first half hour of a grazing period (usually in the late afternoon), followed by about half an hour of more selective feeding. In rabbits, the cecum is approximately 10 times bigger than the stomach, and it, along with the large intestine, makes up roughly 40% of the rabbit’s digestive tract. Most rabbits are relatively solitary and sometimes territorial, coming together only to breed or occasionally to forage in small groups.

Struggling to Survive in a Changing World.
The Amami can only be found on two isolated Japanese islands, and have lived happily in dense wooded areas surviving on bamboo shots, berries and other local vegetation. They are sometimes called “living fossils” as they are the last remaining descendants of ancient wild rabbits that once roamed the whole of the Asian continent. They weigh an average of 5 to 6 pounds, and are usually a dark grey in color. Their dwindling numbers have come about mainly as a result of human interference in their lives. Up until the 1920’s they were hunted for both meat and medical purposes, then heavy logging in the
Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima Islands where they live all but destroyed their habitat. The fact that a healthy Amami doe only usually produces two small litters per year meant that natural restocking could not keep up with decimation being caused by the modern world and its’ people.

Using Science to Save a Species.
The Osaka geneticists, from the noted Kiki University, took cells from the ear of a dead Amami rabbit, and introduced them to an unfertilized egg from a lab rabbit. They did manage to create a viable embryo that was successfully re implanted. Although the scientists have yet to publically release the results of this first pregnancy, they do intend to continue their work until they are successful. The same team did successfully clone and restore a species of wild rat, so they believe that saving the ancient Amami is a real possibility.

Do’s and Don’ts of Rabbit Breeding Genetics

Genetics play a huge part in the production of healthy, attractive rabbit lines that appeal to both breeder and potential owners alike.

Rabbit genetics is a science unto itself, and a good rabbit breeder will take the time to educate themselves in a little depth in the subject. However there are a few basic dos and don’ts that should be followed, whatever breed you are trying to raise.

Do:

• Make sure you begin your breeding program with the healthiest, quality specimens you can afford. A high pedigree is not an essential to successful rabbit breeding, but using animals free of major and noticeable genetic defects such as misshapen limbs and teeth certainly is.

• Concentrate your first efforts on breeding healthy rabbits with good body types before experimenting with color. New and experimental colorations are often accompanied with poor body types until the shade has been properly developed.

• Take the time to research the specific breed you are hoping to raise. Each different one is prone to its own genetic strengths and weaknesses.

Don’ts:

• Breed two “broken” rabbits together if you hope to produce a litter for show purposes. This pairing almost always results in one or two “Charlie Marked” kits in a litter, babies who are almost all white in color with only patchy spots of color.

• Attempt to cross breed species as an inexperienced breeder. The genetic difficulties that may result can be recessive, and not show up until the third or fourth generation of the line.

• Breed a rabbit of attractive color but with visible bodily defects into a quality line. Breeding out the physical defect will take far longer than adding new colors and patterns into a healthy line.

As the public in general tends to adore the dwarf or mini breeds of rabbit, such as the Holland Lop or Mini Rex, some breeders are tempted to try to produce a Dwarf strain of their own line.

If two true Dwarf rabbits are bred together it is almost certain that at least a few of the litter will be born with a double dwarf gene, which is invariably fatal.

Sadly, these kits are almost certainly destined to die in a few short days, and the kindest thing a rabbit breeder can do is allow nature to take its course.

Inexperienced breeders should not really attempt any genetic experimentation until they become skilled at breeding healthy, quality livestock.