MILLIONS FROM RABBITS

Shannon News, 11 June 1929, Page 3

MILLIONS FROM RABBITS

FORTUNES MADE IN FRANCE.

THE VALUE OF SCIENCE.

Fortunes are being made in France, by the scientific breeding of the latest fur-bearing types of rabbits. The Government is taking a keen interest in the development of this latest branch of activity, eminently suitable for small holdings, which in 1926 brought in a total revenue of £22,000000, and, it is estimated, has increased to-day to almost double that amount.

The most valuable of the new furbearing rabbits is the Castor-Rex, whose delicate fur so closely resembles that of the beaver that few experts can 'distinguish between the two. The Ohinehilla Rex and other derivatives of the Rex rabbit are in great demand throughout the world. A Standards Commission superintended by the Ministry of Agriculture, maintains a complete record of the stud animals. The breed’s essential feature is the complete absence of guard hairs—that is to say, hairs which stand out from the others above the coat.

The Castor Rex was established after years of selection by Abbe Gillet, a parish priest with agricultural taste, at La Flesche, Sarthe, and was first exhibited in 1924, though the standard was set up. only recently.