Captive Breeding of Wild Rabbits: Techniques and Population Dynamics

Arenas, Antonio; Astorga, R.; García, I. Gómez; Varo, Antonio; Huerta, Belén; Carbonero, Alfonso; Cadenas, Rafael; Perea, A.

doi:10.2193/0022-541x(2006)70[1801:cbowrt]2.0.co;2

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…This leads to low productivity in terms of rabbits sold per doe and year (Borrego, 1997;Arenas, 2002;González-Redondo, 2002;Arenas et al, 2006). On the other hand, in an attempt to overcome these problems, wild rabbit are also raised under systems in which reproduction is carried out in cages.…”

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confidence: 99%

Characterisation of wild rabbit commercial game farms in Spain

Redondo

Sánchez-Martínez

2014

World Rabbit Sci.

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The aim of this research is to characterise the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) commercial game farms in Spain using variables related to structure, management and marketing. To this end, a structured survey was administered in 2009 to 21 privately-owned farms. This subsector was an average age of 13. The average size of the breeding stock of the farms was 431 does and 64 bucks. Eighty-five percent of the farms kept all or part of the breeding stock in cages and 38.1% used artificial insemination. All the farms carried out breeder self-replacement, 4.8% by buying wild rabbits from other farms, whereas 38.1% captured wild rabbits for this purpose. Nineteen percent of the wild rabbit game farms also produced other game species, mainly red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa), pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) and quail (Coturnix coturnix). Fourteen percent of the farms supplied wild rabbits to be used as prey to be released in programmes for the conservation of endangered predators, and 38.1% supplied breeding rabbits to be used by other farms to replace culled animals. Eighty-six percent of the farms offered the service of transporting the animals from the farm to the hunting grounds to their clients, and 14.3% advised customers on how to successfully release and restock hunting grounds. Seventy-six percent of the farms marketed their products throughout Spain, and 38.1% exported wild rabbits to neighbouring countries, mainly Portugal and France. Forty-three percent of the farms advertised themselves in hunting magazines, 19.1% promoted themselves by attending livestock and game fairs, and 38.1% had their own websites. In conclusion, this alternative rabbit production system constitutes a well-established subsector in Spain, despite being only 2 decades old. It also seems that it has not yet reached its development maturity. It shows wide diversity in terms of farm size and structure, as well as marketing and promotional activities.

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confidence: 99%

Characterisation of wild rabbit commercial game farms in Spain

Redondo

Sánchez-Martínez

2014

World Rabbit Sci.

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“…On the other hand, these enclosures also avoid genetic risks caused by the hybridisation with domestic rabbits that often occurs on commercial wild rabbit farms (Piorno, 2007a). Finally, extensive systems also reduce human handling and improve the animals' welfare (Arenas et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Semi-extensive breeding systems have attained higher productivity (Arenas et al, 2006), but these smaller enclosures (500-800 m 2 ) fail to reproduce natural conditions and the animals reared in these enclosures might not therefore be appropriate for the purpose of release. In theory, the most appropriate system in which to produce wild rabbits for the purpose of release is extensive production in higher enclosures, since they simulate natural environmental conditions (food availability, soil type and aerial predator pressure), thus enabling the establishment of social interactions and the development of a dietary pattern and antipredatory behaviour (Díez and Pérez-Garrido, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting wild rabbit production in extensive breeding enclosures: how can we optimise efforts?

et al. 2013

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Abstract:The declining rabbit population in the Iberian Peninsula has led hunters and authorities to rear rabbits in captivity systems for their subsequent release. One alternative method to intensive rabbitry systems is the use of extensive breeding enclosures, since they produce animals of greater quality for hunting and conservation purposes. However, some of the factors that affect rabbit production in breeding enclosures are still unknown. The present study used partial least squares regression (PLSR) to analyse the effects of plot size, scrub cover, slope, initial rabbit abundance, the resources needed to dig warrens, predation and proximity to other enclosures on rabbit abundance. The results of our study show a positive effect of the number of other fenced plots within a radius of 3 km, a positive relationship with the availability of optimal resources for building warrens and a positive influence of intermediate values of scrub cover. According to our results, to maximise rabbit production in the enclosures it would be advisable to concentrate the restocking effort by ensuring that the restocking plots are close to each other, thus avoiding isolated enclosures. Furthermore, the selection of plots with an appropriate scrub cover and high availability of elements that favour the construction of warrens, such as large stones, sloping land or tall shrubs, may optimise results.

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“…For rabbits reared in cages, values were taken from experiments carried out by González-Redondo (1997, 1998, 2001, 2010 and for enclosures from Borrego (1997) and Arenas et al (2006). In hares, it was assumed that the majority of farms in Spain would rear Iberian hares, the most widespread in the country (Gortázar et al, 2007).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although some projects have studied rearing systems (González-Redondo, 2001;Arenas, 2002;González-Redondo, 2006), little attention has been paid to the situation of this production sector in Spain. In addition, captive rearing of Iberian (Lepus granatensis) and European (Lepus europaeus) hares was started recently in Spain due to steady decline in certain regions, attributed to factors such as habitat loss, intensive farming practices and overhunting (Palacios and Rodríguez, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An approach to the statistics of wild lagomorph captive rearing for releasing purposes in Spain

García-Abad

Alonso

Valle³

et al. 2012

World Rabbit Sci.

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Despite the importance of rearing wild lagomorphs in captivity for hunting and predator conservation in Spain, little is known about this production sector. Taking official data into account, in this work the number and distribution of farms in Spain and the possible number of animals produced were analysed during the period 2005-2010. In 2010, 114 wild rabbit farms were widely distributed throughout the country (especially Cataluña, Galicia, Andalucía and Castilla La Mancha regions), while 21 hare farms were registered, the majority in Extremadura, Castilla La Mancha and Andalucía. A possible production figure of 225 000-265 000 rabbits and 1 034 hares was estimated in 2010. Game farms of wild lagomorphs are established in Spain and placement would be related to a high demand for hunting and predator conservation in certain regions. Although more research is needed, the number of animals produced would be an important part of the total animals released to the wild.

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Captive Breeding of Wild Rabbits: Techniques and Population Dynamics

Cited by 13 publications

References 6 publications

Characterisation of wild rabbit commercial game farms in Spain

Characterisation of wild rabbit commercial game farms in Spain

Factors affecting wild rabbit production in extensive breeding enclosures: how can we optimise efforts?

An approach to the statistics of wild lagomorph captive rearing for releasing purposes in Spain

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