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Rabbits are an example
of an animal which is treated as both food and pet by the same
culture. Snares or guns are usually employed when catching wild
rabbits for food. Dogs are often employed in rabbit hunting. Rabbits
are often raised for meat, a practice called cuniculture. Rabbit
pelts are a widely used fur for clothing. Because of their appetites,
and the rate at which they breed, wild rabbit depredation can
prove problematic for agriculture. Gassing, barriers (fences),
shooting, snaring and ferreting have been used to control rabbit
populations, as has the disease myxomatosis.
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The only rabbit
to be domesticated is the European Rabbit. These rabbits have
been extensively domesticated for food or as a pet. Domesticated
Rabbits have mostly been bred to be much larger than wild rabbits,
though selective breeding has produced a wide range of breeds
which are kept as pets and food animals across the world. They
have as much color variation among themselves as other household
pets. Their fur is prized for its softness, and even today Angora
rabbits are raised for their long soft fur, which is often spun
into yarn. Other breeds are raised for the fur industry, particularly
the Rex, which has a smooth velvet like coat and comes in a wide
variety of colors and sizes. In the middle-size breeds, the teeth
grow approximately 125 mm (5 in) per year for the upper incisors
and about 200 mm (8 in) per year for the lower incisors. The teeth
abrade away against one another, giving the teeth a constantly
sharp edge.
Images 1 &
2 Are Courtesy Of Fun Group Inc.
Images 3 & 4 Are CourtesyOf pdphoto.org
Image Number 5 Is Courtesy Of The U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Images 6 Through 12 Is Courtesy Of The U.S.D.A.
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