Breeding Rabbits in Australia

牧童 · 發(fā)表于 2010-8-17 00:53:55

Breeding Rabbits in Australia

Until the 1990s, rabbit breeding was illegal in most of Australia, due to the risk of rabbits escaping and becoming pests. Wild rabbits are still a problem, but the rabbit calicivirus has spread through many parts of Australia, and this lowers the population of wild rabbits, making them less of an issue. Prior to 1995, rabbit breeding was only legal in Western Australia.
Wild rabbits are generally illegal as pets or to sell, but other breeds of rabbits are acceptable, such as the yarn-producing angora, or rabbits used for meat (Flemish, Californian, NZ White). Rabbits should be kept in enclosures that prevent escape into the wild, and shouldn’t be bred with wild rabbits.
If you are looking to breed rabbits, you should check with your local government office, as certain vaccinations will be required or forbidden, and you may need a permit to do so, especially for commercial operations. You may also need to check if your local rural council has rules preventing the breeding of rabbits. Residential areas generally do not permit commercial rabbit breeding.
If you are looking to do small-time rabbit breeding, or to keep pets, consider an animal shelter such as the Australian Animal Protection Society. If you are looking breed rabbits, however, you probably do not want one of unknown origin – you should get one from another breeder, not a pet store or friend, as the line may be difficult to control.
In looking for rabbits, consider things such as pedigree (is it traceable), do you know if you will get colors that can be shown? If you are breeding rabbits to sell, make sure there are people around who will buy them- and make sure you have a plan to deal with rabbits that aren’t sale-able (make sure they are spayed/neutered, etc).